The Actions of Children
by ToriMc
Summary: If Momo hadn't untied Katara from the tree in the Waterbending Scroll, how different would life be for the Gaang
1. Chapter 1

This is my first full blown fan fiction and I would _greatly_ appreciate any feedback and critiques. Please let me know how the characterization is. This will not be a story where Katara ends up on the ship and two hours later is in love and they're already having sex so please don't expect that. Things may move a little quickly at times but that is simply to keep the plot moving instead of focusing on days and days of repetition.

. . .

. . .

"You know how crucial it is for Aang to learn waterbending!"

"Whatever," Sokka knows better than to argue with his sister on this. He can't make her feel guilty about her perverse sense of justice and so she'll never return the scroll. He shrugs and stalks off.

. . .

. . .

Prince Zuko is beyond exasperated. "You bought a tsungi horn!"

"For music night on the ship. Now if only we had some woodwinds." General Iroh already has his eyes set on the next place of mercantile conquest and points at the ship docked nearby. "Oh this looks promising!"

The galley of the ship is hardly dusty nor old but still manages to exude a creepy feel. Perhaps it's the deep shadows in corners and the odd monkey statue staring down at them, but while the Prince is plotting possible escape routes out of habit, Iroh seems perfectly at ease babbling about trinkets he finds.

A pirate leans over the counter talking to a man with a large iguana parrot on his shoulder, obviously the captain if the bird and hat are any indicator. "We lost the watertribe girl and the little bald monk she was traveling with." That's all it takes to peak the Fire Prince's interest.

"This monk, did he have an arrow on his head?" With a nod from the pirates Zuko's lips split into a feral grin. He will get the Avatar this time.

. . .

. . .

Four separate waterbending katas are painstakingly drawn onto the scroll. The detail is good but the motion and fluidity put into each character is the true mark of excellence. Katara hasn't been able to keep her hands off of it and now that they've finally made camp she can open it and learn the secrets it holds. A minute passes before Aang starts uncomfortably shifting his weight. She's staring at the scroll, not at him and she won't even let him touch the thing! "Ahem, Katara?"

"Oh, huh! Oh yeah, I just want to try this one move first and then it's all yours. Here, hold it open for me. This single water whip, looks doable." She isn't a master. Her stance is good but it needs work. She concentrates too hard on controlling the water instead of letting the water pull at her. The river starts to move with the motions of her kata but, needless to say, her whip ends up connecting solidly with her forehead.

Behind her Sokka snorts.

"What's so funny?" Her glare could freeze oceans.

"I'm sorry, but you deserved that." He turns to the Air Nomad. "You've been duped. She's only interested in teaching herself."

"Aang will get his turn once I figure out the water whip!" She fumes. She needs to learn it so she can properly teach him, or at least that's what she tells herself as she tries again. This time Momo is the one to get solidly thwacked even though she wishes it had been her older annoying brother. "Why can't I get this stupid move!"

"You'll get it. You just gotta shift your weight through the stances. There, see the key to bending is -" He never gets to finish his sentence.

The perfect example of a water whip with exact control mixed with his patronizing 'the key to bending' crap is just enough to push her over the edge. "Will you please shut your air hole? Believe it or not your infinite wisdom gets a little old sometimes! Why don't we just throw away the scroll since you're so naturally gifted!" She screeches. In the milliseconds that follow not even the bugs chirp. "What?" Sokka's glare can almost match hers but the sight of Aang with tears in his eyes is what stops a sarcastic comment in her throat. "Oh my gosh Aang, I am so sorry, I don't know what came over me. But you know what, it won't happen again." She rolls the scroll up and hands it to him. "Here, this is yours. I don't want to have anything to do with it anymore." That's a lie and she knows it but at least it will make him feel better and she can always practice at night when no one is around to judge her and laugh.

That night Katara makes dinner as usual. It's not her favorite thing to do but if it weren't for her she's sure that the two boys would starve. It's not long after that when the fire starts to die down and Sokka announces that it's time for bed. His precious schedule demands that they get to sleep so they can wake up early and get even further away from the pirates. After mumbling something about 'stupid sense of justice' he's out. Aang isn't far behind them. Katara feels the pull of the moon in her blood though. While the pull itself isn't enough to keep her awake, the desire to study more of the scroll is. Once she's sure that everyone is truly asleep she crawls out of her bed roll and grabs the scroll from one of the packs. Momo's big green eyes pierce as she tiptoes away but she can't be bothered by him. "Shh Momo," she whispers, "Go back to sleep." Then off into the woods she goes, in search of a good place to practice her bending.

The last waterbender of the Southern Water Tribe pulls at the water trying to bend it to her will. The scroll shows how to move but it doesn't show how to think and Katara can't manage to get the water to move properly. She commands it, coaxes it, tries to bargain with it. Nothing works. "Come on stupid scroll, you were supposed to help me." Again the water twitches but doesn't make it far past being a swaying column. "This is just great. I don't have to worry about completely stationary opponents, I can soak them." The sarcastic comment doesn't make her feel much better and she tries again. It's been two hours and the damn water still won't listen to her! "Okay Katara, shift your weight through the stances." Maybe talking to herself will do the trick. Maybe.

Metal groans behind her in sharp contrast to the sounds of the forrest. The pirates! They must have found her somehow. Perhaps practising on a river when being chased by river going individuals wasn't the best plan. Katara turns to run and smacks straight into a hulking man with biceps the size of her head. Water splashes into his face, surprising him and freeing her. Unfortunately her real enemy grabs hold of her. "I'll save you from the pirates." His eyes are like piranha sharks, dead and cold.

"Let go of me!" He doesn't even respond. "I said let go!" She tries to twist away but his grip is firm. Her forehead goes for his nose, hoping to at least throw him off balance even if it doesn't permanently injure him though that would be a bonus. He dodges her attack and slams the girl into a tree.

"Chang, go get some rope." It's the first thing he's said so far and the order is quickly followed. Two men begin to tie her up. The one who seems to be Chang makes the mistake of standing at her front and handling the rope off to the man behind the tree. He leans forward, the rope in one hand and her wrist in the other. She's heard stories in the ports since leaving the Water Tribe. She's heard what sailors will do when given the chance and there's no way she's going to give them that chance. No woman of the Water Tribes can hope for a good future if anything in the whispered stories happens to her. His neck between his jaw and his armor is exposed and she lunges. Copper fills her mouth and with a yank he begins screaming and lets go of her. That's all the opening she needs, with a flash she's off. The sand under her feet gives but adrenaline pushes her. The woods are near, why did they have to pin her to a tree so far away from the others? The tree line is so close. A wall of flames erupts in front of her, closing her off from safety. "You shouldn't have done that." The water is too far away, fire's against her back, and Prince Zuko stands between her and her route of escape. The fire drops and three men converge on her. This time when they tie her to the tree everyone is careful to stay clear of her teeth.

"That little bitch!" Chang's still bleeding profusely though obviously not enough to stop him from advancing on her. "I'm gonna -"

"No, you're not." Chang's hand stops in mid-air and the prince's words. His blood is still on the waterbenders mouth, dripping down her chin but he stops. The prince steps forward. "Now, after that little display why don't we get down to the negotiating." To be honest the blood freaked him out. What kind of heathens did the create in the South? He wanted to get this over and done with so he could stop staring at the girl with blood on her lips and hate in her eyes. Behind him Iroh watched but doesn't see the hate that his nephew does. The retired general sees fear, straight unadulterated fear.

"Tell me where he is and I won't hurt you or your brother."

"Go jump in the river!" She hisses.

"That's not the answer I'm looking for." His manor shifts. Where before he stood firm and blank faced, now he slinks up next to her like a snake trying to convince a rabbit mouse to roll over and lay still while it's being eaten. He prowls around the tree, too close for comfort but not close enough to have to be wary of her teeth though the smell of blood was strong. "Try to understand, I need to capture him to restore something I've lost, my honor." She jerks away from him. If he's trying to make her uncomfortable it's working but that doesn't mean she'll tell him anything he wants to know. "Perhaps in exchange I can restore something you've lost." A small carving of the water tribe symbol hanging from a blue silk ribbon dangles in front of her eyes.

"My mother's necklace! How did you get that?"

He saunters away. "I didn't steal it if that's what you're wondering. Tell me where he is." Katara retorts by spitting some of Chang's blood onto the prince's boots.

"Enough of this necklace garbage! You promised a scroll!" The pirate captain may have enjoyed watching what he would call foreplay but now it's just getting old. That scroll is worth a lot of money and the captain wants it back now.

"I wonder how much this is worth?" Zuko rolls the scroll over in his hands, pondering it before lighting a fire under it, the flames licking centimeters away from the parchment. When the whole lot of pirates gasp and the captain reflexively tenses as if to make a dash for it he grins. "A lot apparently. Now you help me find what I want, you'll get this back, and everyone goes home happy. Search the woods for the boy and meet back here."

The captain huffs. "Fine."

The men walk off and Katara is left with the prince, the general, and Chang who shoots her a death glare before stalking back into the boat leaving the three alone. Minutes tick by and the adrenaline is wearing off. Slowly but surely Katara's mouth tastes worse and worse and no amount of spitting seems to fix it and the feel of flesh in her mouth sends shivers down her spine.

"I can only imagine how disgusting that must have tasted." The general chuckles and fishes a cup out of his endless store of odds and ends in his sleeves. "Nephew, please go fill this up for the young lady."

"No way, I'm not helping some peasant."

"Nephew." His words have an edge of authority and with a roll of his eyes Zuko fills up the cup from the nearby river. "She's a waterbender should she be able to do this?" He grumbles.

"Thank you. Now miss, I can't untie you but please be so kind as to not rip my fingers off." Iroh holds the cup to her thirsty lips but she turns away. "I know you must be dieing to rinse out your mouth, there's nothing wrong with accepting this." Iroh tries again and this time she drinks swishing it around to get the foul taste out of her mouth all the while glaring daggers at them both. She's only accepting because if she doesn't she'll surely puke. "See, that wasn't so hard! Now, what's your name I can't continue to call you miss." She's silent.

Zuko grabs her by the front of her dress and gets dangerously close. "My uncle asked you a question, learn some respect." He doesn't care about her name but does care that she knows her place which is far below them as their captive. Instead of an answer her head smashes forward, this time catching him straight in the nose with an audible crack.

"What the fuck!" Blood streams from his nose and a smirk flashes across Katara's features. Iroh's eyebrows shoot up, this girl is brave, stupid for hurting his nephew when she can't escape but still brave.

"Why don't you go inside and wait for pirates to get back nephew? Get some calming tea and a compress for your nose."

"I don't need calming tea! I need the Avatar and for my nose to stop bleeding!" Any other comments stop as blood drips past his hand into his mouth and he starts gagging. "Girls are crazy!" is the last statement before he sulks onto his boat.

"Forgive my nephew, he's not exactly one for getting along." Katara scoffs but makes no other comments. "Really he is a good man, really." Chasing them around the world, knocking down the wall at the Southern Water Tribe, being Fire Nation, leaving her tied to a tree, none of those are the mark of a 'good man' in her book.

"I'm sorry about this whole thing. The Avatar is really important to him and you just happen to be in the way. I'm sure if you met him under any other circumstances you two would get along."

At that she can't help but retort. "Yeah right, I'd never be friends with some jerk from the Fire Nation."

"We're not all bad people."

"Tell that to my tribe," she mutters. Silence follows. Iroh would really like to go get some tea himself but he doesn't dare leave the girl alone, not after what happened earlier. She's terrified and who knows what would happen if any of the pirates or Chang were to come back and find her by herself. Besides, what would Zuko do if she escaped on his watch? Iroh shutters to think, he's worked so hard on getting close to his nephew, it'd be a shame to spoil it.

The minutes creep along and the river pulls at Katara. If she were untied she could take them all. Oh who is she kidding, she couldn't get something as simple as the water whip. Well no, that's not true she managed to get the pirate when he grabbed her. She hadn't thought about, she had just reacted. It's unlikely that she can do it on command yet. Maybe Aang would come and get her since obviously she's going nowhere on her own. Aang can't come though, if he did then he'd get captured and there would go the last hope against the Fire Nation. Hopefully he's realized that she's gone and has left instead of looking. He can't afford to waste time and look for her, he needs to get to the Northern Water Tribe and learn bending.

She must have nodded off because a thunk beside her jerks her awake to see the sunrise. The old man and the jerk prince are headed her way from the river. Another thunk beside her. The blood drains from her face. Aang and Sokka have been tied and slammed onto the ground.

"Nice work," Zuko purrs and begins to walk towards the pirates holding the boys with the scroll in his hand.

"Aang, this is all my fault." Oh if only she hadn't taken the scroll!

"No Katara, it isn't."

Iroh butts in, "Yeah it kinda is." No one asked him!

"Give me the boy."

The captain counters, "You give us the scroll."

"You're really gonna hand over the Avatar for a stupid piece of parchment?"

Zuko quickly tries to cover up the Water Tribe boy's outburst. "Don't listen to him, he's trying to turn us against each other!" But it's too late, the pirates heard and are more than interested.

"Your friend is the Avatar?"

"Sure is, and I'll bet he'll fetch a lot more on the black market than that fancy scroll." Sokka's playing them, Katara knows that face but what does he hope to accomplish?

"Shut your mouth you Water Tribe peasant!"

"Yeah Sokka, you really should shut your mouth." Aang's obviously uncomfortable.

Sokka ignores them both. "I'm just saying it's bad business about how much the Fire Lord would pay for the Avatar. You guys would be set for life."

The captain grins, "Keep the scroll. We can buy a hundred with the reward we'll get for the kid."

"You'll regret breaking a deal with me!" Zuko roars and kicks out flames bursting out towards the pirates. "Get the girl on the ship!" He yells as the pirate first mate begins to throw smoke bombs. It's impossible to see but he has to hope that someone followed his order. A fist swings and he blocks but soon it's gone. Fire makes the smoke glow but he has to get out of it. A knife flies at him from an unseen source. The step to dodge it brings him outside of the smoke, thankfully he was close to the edge anyway and the waterbending scroll is still safely in his grasp. There's movement behind him. The old captain has his sword drawn and finally the boy is on familiar ground. He can handle just straight fighting, that's no problem. The sword lunges and Zuko blocks with his arm guard. Fire spews towards the older man missing him unfortunately. An elbow jams into the man's jugular making him crumple. The captain shouldn't have let him get that close.

One of his men has the waterbender slung over his shoulder and is sprinting towards the boat as she struggles and kicks. Good, that means the prince can divert energy to capturing the Avatar not just baiting him. The little orange and yellow clad boy is jumping over the clouds of smoke. A well timed burst of fire goes to where his torso should have been. Unfortunately luck doesn't favor the Fire Nation Prince.


	2. Chapter 2

I'm so excited that people are reading this. I won't be updating as frequently because I already had most of chapter 2 written when I posted chapter 1. Please forgive any grammatical errors, I have no beta reader at the moment.

. . .

. . .

Thick iron manacles circle Katara's dark wrists. She's trying to discreetly wiggle out of them but they hold firm. Nearby the Fire Nation Prince fumes. General Iroh pinches the bridge of his nose. When he had suggested that his nephew get friends this is not what he had in mind. Kidnapping is not what he had ever had in mind. Now because Zuko hadn't thought this through there was nowhere to store the girl where she would be safe and quite honestly while his nephew wouldn't dream of touching the girl Iroh saw last night that she would be scared being in the room with him overnight. That and Iroh didn't want to wake up to find a knife in the prince's throat. That left the general's room. The men wouldn't talk like they would if she were with Zuko and she wouldn't have to worry about her honor. Hopefully she wouldn't be inclined to stab him either.

"You don't think things through nephew. This wasn't a good idea."

"What do you mean! Of course it's a good idea!" Zuko can't very well admit he was wrong, not after his prisoner has already been brought aboard. "We can lure the Avatar to us instead of chasing him all around the globe."

"Yes, but where will we put her? As far as I can tell my room is the only real option considering both the brig and the crew quarters are out of the question and putting her in your room would be a bad idea."

"A bad idea? I'm not going to hurt her Uncle, you've taught me better than that."

Iroh raises an eyebrow, that's not what he was talking about. "Ahem, the Water Tribe has certain views about honor and chastity."

Understanding dawns on Zuko's face as he sputters and turns to the furiously blushing girl. "Wha- I would never - how could you say that! She's a filthy peasant."

"Well it's not like I'm interested in you, you piece of moose-lion dung." Katara retorts.

"I am not moose-lion dung!"

"Yeah you are! You've chased us around the world, you kidnapped me, you're trying to kidnap the Avatar and to top it all off you're Fire Nation. Just being Fire Nation is enough to make you shit!"

"Children-"

"I AM NOT A CHILD!" Both voices angrily holler back before continuing their own shouting match.

Iroh sighs and motions for one of the crew to come over. "Go get some clothes from town that look like they would fit our new guest. Hmm, get whatever else you think a young girl her age might like, like jewelry and hair pieces. Have it all brought back here to my room. Oh and get another bed roll." The soldier nods and Iroh hands off a small bag of gold pieces.

"No one even likes you or have you not noticed that? You're a jerk with a big fat ugly scar and an ugly personality to match it!" At her words Zuko stops cold all of the fight leaving him like the air out of a punctured balloon. His shoulders hunch a little and his face falls. Without another word he walks out. "Good riddance," Katara states, making sure he can hear her.

He should have seen that one coming, after all she doesn't know. The Prince follows the familiar steps from his Uncle's room to his own and slams the door behind him. How could she say something like that? "I don't need anyone to like me. I just need my honor back," he says but it doesn't make him feel any better. He swings his fist at the metal wall, the solid crunch and pain relieving some frustration. His nose still hurts from where she headbutted him earlier and now he has knuckles to match. Nothing's broken but it still hurts.

. . .

"You'll be staying here in this room. I know it's not the best situation, but at least you'll be left alone here. No one will bother you." Iroh pats her blue clad shoulder and walks out, careful to shut the door behind him. The manacles are still on her wrists and it doesn't look like they're coming off anytime soon. They hurt and are rubbing her raw. Her stomach hurts from being thrown over someone's shoulder. Her heart hurts from, no it's best not think about that. She is stuck on an enemy boat, surrounded by men who will do Goddess knows what to her if given the chance, she doesn't know what's happened to her brother and Aang, and it is most certainly all her fault. The first tear leaks out. She's been so strong around her captors, careful to not show any weakness but in the silence of the room she cries. She cries until her eyes are swollen and red and snot is smeared across her face from trying to wipe it away.

Someone knocks politely on the door then hesitantly sticks their head in. It's a man in his late teens or early twenties who seems more than a little nervous about being near the waterbender. After all, she's a blood thirsty sea wretch who eats human flesh for fun according to the rumors already spreading across the ship like wild fire. The large chunk out of Chang's neck didn't help matters either. "Um, I uh brought you the things that General Iroh asked for." He stammers. "Uh dresses for you and some other stuff. Here you go." He shoves a pile of cloth into her arms and bolts.

All of the clothes are red. Those bastards obviously have something against nice reasonable colors like blue or purple. Even Earth Kingdom green would be preferable to red! She drops them, refusing to let her captors think she agrees with any of this and goes to sit by the wall, staring out the window at the port town. At least she's somewhere where she gets to see outside.

Later Iroh walks in and almost trips over the clothes she left in the middle of the floor. Katara doesn't turn around, just tenses up but to her surprise he just chuckles and starts folding them for her, clearing out a drawer in the chest of drawers for her. "Oh this is nice, they bought you some jewelry and some nice soaps for your hair. That was thoughtful."

The waterbender stays quiet. "Would you like a nice hot cup of jasmine tea? I was just about to make some." He sighs after she doesn't respond.

"My nephew usually joins me for dinner. He'll be here any minute now."

"You know, I still didn't catch your name. What is it? Well, if you won't tell me then I guess I'll call you Saphire, yes Saphire will do nicely as a name."

Finally she speaks. "Katara, my name's Katara."

"Ah Miss Katara then, would you like to join us for dinner? I hear the cook made delicious fried eel tonight." Apparently her name is all she has to say to him since there's no reply to that.

Zuko enters and casts a brief glance at the waterbender pressed as close to the window as possible before sitting down at the short table in front of a roaring fire. His nose is swollen and he's careful not to move too quickly. A server follows him in and places bowls of rice with white wine sauce and fried eel in front of them. There's a bowl for Katara but she makes no move to join them. The two Fire Nation royals eat, awkwardly aware of their guest who is pointedly ignoring them.

The silence stretches on until Zuko snaps. "Oh Agni! You, you're not hurt, you're in a nice room with what I'm sure will be the first real bed you've ever slept in, you should be grateful."

"Really!" Her eyebrows shoot so far up that they're in danger of crossing into her hairline. "Really, what should I feel _honored _that I was so blessed as to be kidnapped? Should I be happy that you're trying to catch the one person on this planet that has a hope of bringing an end to the war? You have one screwed up idea of what makes people happy."

"Well peasant -"

"My name's Katara, dunderhead. If you're going to be an ass at least be a polite ass."

"You're lecturing me about being polite! You've been the epitome of Southern savagery since we met."

She scoffs. "Southern savagery! The Fire Nation is the real savage, they spread war and death wherever they go!"

"We spread knowledge and civilized ways of thinking."

"Oh don't even try to pull that line with me."

"If a few people happen to get hurt in the process so be it."

"A few people." Pain flashes across her features. "A few people happen to get hurt!" The young waterbender has seen so many people who have been brutalized, extorted, killed, and he calls them a few people who happen to get hurt. There's nothing she can say to that. The anger is replaced with shock and a surprised numb. How could someone be that blind? "I hope someone shows you just how bad the Fire Nation has made people's lives."

"The Fire Nation has helped so much! Before us -"

"Nephew." Iroh's hand rests gently on his shoulder before Zuko scorches the bowls in his temper. Zuko removes his hands quickly from the table, embarrassed. "Please Katara come join us. Any escape plans you have will do better on a full stomach."

"She's not escaping Uncle! We need her to catch the Avatar."

By this time Katara has moved to get her food but retreats back to the window with it. It's hard to eat with the manacles on but she manages it considering that she hasn't eaten since "And how exactly do you plan on catching him? You've done a pretty bad job so far."

"But now we have something he wants. He'll come to us."

"No he won't." She's praying that he won't at least. She can get herself out of here but he can't get caught, no matter what he can't get caught. "My brother and Aang know better than to stop for me. Aang has to master the elements, and they won't stop for me."

"I wouldn't be so sure little waterbender. The Avatar adores you and so you'll bring him right to me."

"I'll be gone long before you get the chance."

"I'm going to have guards with you twenty-four seven, you won't get the chance."

"Watch me."

. . .

The manacles chaff and Katara should be planning her escape. Her stomach is full though and the bed roll they bought for her is so much more comfortable than appa's saddle or her bison fur and flea infested sleeping bed. Not seeing the stars is the worst part considering she's been sleeping under them for the weeks since she and Sokka left with Aang. Within moments she's asleep even with the older gentleman in the room and the fact that she's on an enemy ship. Guards stand outside the door and Iroh looks at the little girl huddled against the window. This war has affected so many and children shouldn't have to live like this. Children like the girl and his own nephew shouldn't have to live in fear, they shouldn't have this much responsibility weighing on their young shoulders.

"Prince Zuko, this isn't right." the prince had just walked in the room.

"I know Uncle, but what else am I supposed to do?" The pleading undertone is obvious.

"I know catching the Avatar is important to you but think about this poor girl. She's scared witless. She'll at least cooperate more if you take the manacles off and perhaps don't retort to all of her comments with quite as much vigor."

"I'm talking about the Avatar."

"And I'm talking about Miss Katara over there. She is your responsibility and you need to treat her well. The mark of a good man is how he treats those that he doesn't have to treat well."

"I don't want to hear anything about being a good man Uncle, I want to hear about how to capture the Avatar!"

"I don't have any advice on that Nephew, that is something you must figure out yourself."

"Ugh!" he groans and stomps back to his room, skipping the usual nightly tea with his uncle. This girl is going to be a problem but how else is he going to capture the Avatar? Nothing has worked so far and he needs this. He needs to catch that boy.

. . .

Aang is frantic, crying and wringing his hands. "She's gone, they took her! How could they take her! Why need to go get her back! Sokka why are you just sitting there, we need to go get Katara!"

"Shut up Aang." Sokka doesn't look up just continues staring into the fire.

"How can you just be sitting there, we have to go get her!"

Sokka jumps to his feet and the surprised Avatar is pinned to a nearby tree. "This is all your fault kid. If you had never shown up this never would have happened. Now shut up and let me think."

. . .

"The manacles will come off during the day but don't you dare try anything or else they will be right back on and you'll be in the darkest corner of the ship strung up so that bending isn't even an option." Katara isn't planning on trying anything quite yet. They pulled out of port late last night and now they're in the middle of the ocean. She may be a waterbender but that doesn't mean that she can make it to shore especially since she doesn't know where shore is. The manacles click open and breakfast is placed in front of her. "Well, aren't you going to say thank you?" It didn't take long for her to realize that silence is what aggravates him the most and so she uses it to her full advantage. "I didn't have to do that you know." She rolls her eyes. "I could have thrown you in the brig to rot."

"Or you could have not kidnapped me. How about that?" The prince groans, Uncle's idea of being nice is getting him nowhere.

"So Nephew, will your guest be joining us for training today?"

"Have you forgotten that she's a waterbender and we're on a ship in the middle of the ocean?"

"I just thought that it would be a nice break from your regular drills. Sparring with someone new will help your skills develop."

Zuko snorts. "My skills develop? You saw her the other night trying to do some simple move. She's awful she won't be a challenge."

"Excuse you, that was a brand new move I'd never seen before so I did a pretty good job considering." She may not believe it but that doesn't mean he doesn't have to. "I could take you on." Mostly she just wants a chance to continue learning bending or at least practising hers. Even if it is from filthy Fire Benders, she needs to learn more especially if she ever wants to defeat Zuko, get away from him, and keep Aang and Sokka safe. "In fact, I could take you with one hand tied behind my back." That does the trick.

"Keep dreaming peasant. Guards, set up a room away from the hull with a few barrels of water."

"Yes sir." A wicked grin spreads across Katara's face and is met with equal intensity by Zuko. Iroh's heart drops somewhere in the region of his intestines. There's not going to be anything left of the two! They shovel food into their mouths and are off, Katara's eyes scanning the ship for her future breakout.

Zuko closes the door behind them and Katara immediately pulls all of the water in the three barrels towards her or at least tries to. The barrels explode but the liquid inside goes no more than two feet before dropping to the ground. "Fuck."

The firebender turned around at the explosion and raises an eyebrow. "I thought you could take me on with a hand tied behind your back."

He's smirking and it's infuriating. It was a reaction the other night when the water whip worked properly. She's waterbended fish for dinner before, she's done simple things, she can do this. Just go on instinct. Her arm shoots forward and the water does too. Zuko dodges but at least he's surprised. With a twist of her wrist the water flows on a smooth arc right into her forehead, again.

"With skills like that I'm amazed that the Water Tribes haven't beaten the Fire Nation into the ground." To her utter embarrassment tears form at the corners of her eyes. She bites her cheek to stop them but a few have already escaped to Zuko's complete and utter shock. "Oh Agni, don't worry about it. Here," without thinking he puts his hand on her arm.

She stiffens and jumps back screeching. She doesn't know this boy, this enemy of hers and she wants him nowhere near her. "Don't touch me!" She spits and every drop of water including her tears smashes into him. Fire shoots from his arms, evaporating a lot of the water before it reaches him. She pulls it back instinctually forming a barrier around herself. A fire ball fizzles out against it and Katara twirls, sending the water crashing into the prince again though this time he jumps to avoid it. He lands catlike a few feet away and goes in for close combat with fire knives. Her arms wave and the ground beneath him freezes. It actually works properly! The Prince of the Fire Nation lands squarely on his butt. It takes him a moment to catch his breath but once he does he's back on his feet. The moment is long enough for the adrenaline to leave Katara's veins and when he attacks again the water only splashes against him instead of pushing him back with it's force.

Thankfully he pauses as the waterbender starts muttering swear words under her breath. She moves her arms and the water responds better than it did two days ago but still not well enough for her to be a great bender outside of adrenaline filled situations. "That's enough for the day." Zuko states and walks out of the room, leaving her with the guards standing outside the door. Unsure of whether or not she has to leave now, Katara stays and puts in another few hours worth of work. She goes through kata after kata perfecting her old moves and trying to remember the new ones from the scroll. She has to work with the water and feel the energy in it if she wants to get any better and she has to get better. She has to get herself out of here.

By the end of her practice her arms are sore, her legs are jelly, and she's sweating head to toe but it's worth it. She can now at least manage the water whip even if it isn't perfect. She doesn't have to be perfect to win. The path back to General Iroh's room is fairly straight forward. They go up two flights of stairs to the main deck then down a hallway and up one flight of stairs before arriving at his door. No one is inside and she flops down in front of the table downing the pot of tea that was left for her. If they're going to drug her they can slip it into pretty much anything and there's not much she can do so she might as well stay hydrated. There don't seem to be any negative after effects and the taste is rather floral. Katara's not used to tea of any kind considering the leaves are hard to come by in the South and so the taste leaves something to be desired by her.

After a few minutes or hours of stretching and relaxing after her workout she stands. After being the 'mother' of the group for so long she can't just sit and do nothing, it feels wrong. She goes through all of her stretches again but that doesn't take nearly as long as she'd like. She looks at the new clothes they got for her - and proceeds to hate every single one of them, preferring to stay in her Water Tribe blues even if they were getting a little worn and soon she'll outgrow them. After a moment of internal debate and deciding that since she was the prisoner here and they were the idiots that put her in the room so she could do whatever the hell she wanted to it, she starts rifling through the drawers. This Iroh man doesn't have anything interesting. There are a few candles, some trinkets and jewelry but nothing all that odd. He does have a few little sculptures that seem almost Water Tribe in style but they surely couldn't be.

Finally, there's something interesting or at least it could be. His bedside drawer is locked. She really shouldn't pry into other people's things but, well, what would Aang say? 'The monks told me once that even though we all live together we each are entitled to our own little bits of privacy,' or something along those lines. What would Sokka say though? 'Open it open it!' Chants through her mind, 'There could be blubbered seal jerky or even Fire Nation war plans!' Yeah, Sokka's voice definitely wins. It doesn't take much to open the drawer, a few twists from the pins that hold her hair in place and the drawer clicks open. The contents shed a new light on the old man even without too close of a look. A polished wooden statue of two koi fish circling each other gracefully sits in one corner, carefully padded against the iron drawer. The Water Tribe symbol is carved into the back of one and on the other the Fire Nation symbol is carved. Katara picks it up carefully as if afraid even breathing on it might break it. An inscription at the bottom reads 'Iroh, may you find your inner peace' and on the other side it states, 'balance is achieved through the push and pull of inner seas'. That's an old Water Tribe saying. What is a Fire Nation man doing with a Water Tribe statue? Letters lay beside the carving and underneath them pictures. A little boy, a young man, they seem to be the same person and have Iroh's kind features. There are easily a dozen paintings of the boy and Iroh together laughing and smiling. The second to last one though is sombre, both men are dressed in what can only be described as royal paraphernalia with straight faces and serious mouths. The artist somehow managed to catch the twinkle in the boy's eyes, making the picture a little less grim. Katara picks up the last painting and gasps. It's a funeral announcement with the boy's face. Steps echo outside the door and she scurries to put the papers back and get away from the drawer, schooling her face to look as pissed as possible and whoever walks in.

. . .

Prince Zuko goes through the motions of his own training but his thoughts are elsewhere. After messing up a form that he should be able to do with no problems for the fourth time he throws his head back in frustration and releases a steady stream of fire from his lungs. "Enough!" He stalks inside and slams the door of his room closed behind him. That peasant should not occupy any of his thoughts especially no thoughts of pity! The problem is that he sees so much of himself in her. He still struggles with some of the basics and it's quite obvious that she does too. Uncle was right though, she does offer an entirely different kind of fighting than he is used to. If she gets better at it then he'll have a stronger opponent to fight and he himself will get better too. The prince opens his wardrobe and pulls out the waterbending scroll from the other night. The pirates hadn't gotten it back from him. Perhaps this would help her. No, it would help him by giving him a better opponent who doesn't hold back because he's young and a prince, even a banished prince outranks the men on this ship. It could easily be a death sentence if any of them hurt him and though he'd never execute any of them, they don't know that and they hold back.

He needs to come up with a plan to capture the Avatar though and having a strong Waterbender may not be the best idea for that. They're already on a course for the Fire Nation and it's been a day and a half since the girl was brought on board. He needs to get ready. He sighs, giving the girl the scroll won't take long and prepping for the Avatar will.

He walks out then realizes he has no idea where his own prisoner is. He gave no orders to the guards and so she could be a number places, the training room, the mess hall, Uncle's room. Uncle's room seems the most likely since it's been a few hours and it's doubtful she's still training with her limited abilities. His guess is correct. The girl is standing in the center of the room her arms crossed and a look of utmost annoyance etched into her features. Just the sight of her makes his blood pressure go up a bit. "Work on this. Tomorrow we'll spar again and I want an actual challenge." He sets the scroll down on the table and bolts out of there before she can say anything rude.


	3. Chapter 3

This is a mature chapter, disturbing imagery with blood and violence along with sexual tones. Also, I want to thank everyone that's been reading this so far! I was actually not to sure if I would continue about halfway through chapter 2 but all of the views really pushed me to keep doing this. I doubt I'll be able to pump chapters out as quickly for at least two weeks because of weekend plans, but there should AT LEAST be a chapter a week if not more.

I know this is a relatively short chapter but it seemed like a good place to stop.

. . .

Sokka and Aang don't speak on Appa. Sokka and Aang hardly speak as they gather firewood. Sokka starts the fire and Aang gathers nuts and leafy greens. Sokka pointedly ignores them and catches a small pig deer. He skins it in front of a blanching Aang and rips into it eagerly once it's cooked. The haunch is burnt on the outside but almost raw inside. Katara always does the cooking, Sokka's just happy that he managed to do this decent of a job.

"You know Sokka that really isn't good for you."

"Shut up Aang. I don't want to hear it." The tendons rip wetly as Sokka pulls. "We're getting Katara back and we need a plan. We lost her here." He pulls out a map he got who knows when and points. "It looks like Zuko's on a direct path towards the Fire Nation and we'll need to catch him before he gets too far away. If we can damage the ship then they'll have to stop for repairs and we can get her off then."

"Why don't we just get her while they're sailing? We can go in the middle of the night and fly away on Appa, problem solved."

"Yeah except that we don't know where she's being kept, how many guards there are, anything! We need to get on when we can move around the most and that will be when they're docked and the soldiers are off!"

"Sokka, if we damage the ship a lot of people could get hurt."

Sokka growls, "They're Fire Nation, they're not real people."

. . .

Katara picks up the bending faster than Zuko had picked up his first katas. Uncle stands inside the room with her, critiquing her forms gently. Zuko is off doing who knows what. She's warmed up considerably to the old man since finding the pictures of who she can only assume is his dead son and the statue. It was hand carved and no Water Tribe member would do that unless General Iroh had done something good to deserve it. She accepted him smiles and even returned a few of her own last night at tea and this morning.

"The basis of all good bending is form and balance. Don't overextend yourself." She breathes deeply and feels for the water around her. "Don't try to move it just yet, just focus on the way it feels." Focus on the way it feels? How is that any different than her usual bending? It won't hurt to try. She doesn't move but concentrates on the barrels of water. Nothing happens. She sighs but keeps trying. It's hard, the water slips away from her awareness. Then her mind explodes. It's like her senses are being expanded! She becomes more aware of the humidity and the droplets clinging to the sides of the barrels. This goes on for minutes, no movement but simply sensing it. Her entire body is charged with her element, connected to it in a way she hasn't been before. When she moves the connection slips away and she gasps back inside only her skin. "I've never experienced what the waterbenders feel when connecting to their element, but I've been told that it's truly amazing. For firebenders it's different but I'm sure close to the same."

"Wow! How did you know to have me do that?"

Iroh chuckles. "I've seen a great many things and learned along the way. The best water benders have practiced so that they can always feel their element around them."

She smiles back at him and focuses on her element once again. It sloshes with the movement of the ship and she draws it up a thin line. All of her practice yesterday comes in handy and she can pull the water against herself and up. To Iroh it looks like a dance, waterbending always has. "Now, you should work on feeling the water several times a day, you'll become a better bender for it. Right now though let's work on the moves in that scroll." For an hour and a half he drills her much the same as he would Zuko. The biggest difference is that when Zuko messes up he takes it out on his opponent, Katara takes it out by yelling at the water. Zuko hears the yelling and pauses, about to open the door. When it continues he thinks better of it and backs off, leaving the Water Tribe girl alone. Honestly she scares the hell out of him even if he does believe he's better than she is at everything. The traps are all set for the Avatar and instead of sparing the prince goes to check on them.

. . .

Chang's neck aches where the bitch bit him. The doctor had to cut off large chunks of skin to get to the actual cut and the salve had burned like Agni himself. There's no way he's going to let her get away with that. His pride is at stake. He sees the way the other men look at him, hurt by a child.

. . .

"I was surprised that you didn't join us today Prince Zuko."

"Uuh, I was busy. The uh, I needed to check on some supply lists." He's a terribly liar but Iroh lets it slide.

Katara's hardly eating her food though after her training session she should be wolfing it down. It's been two days and they still haven't come for her. She didn't believe they'd really leave her but maybe they did. She misses them terribly. Being a captive is a lot easier than she had expected. She expected chains and little food and being stored away somewhere. Instead she's been allowed to train, given good food and sunlight. She's not sure what to make of it, perhaps it's only because it's her and not the Avatar himself. She glances up and Iroh is looking at her expectantly. "Sorry, I was thinking of something else. What did you say?"

"I was just telling Prince Zuko about your lesson today and I was wondering how you're feeling."

"I'm fine." Her muscles are on fire but she's learned so much in just two days. She's actually had time to practice and work instead of being up on Appa or taking care of someone else, not that she'd take this over that any day. She misses her brother terribly. Iroh tries to start up the conversation several times again but neither of his companions say more than a few words, each lost in their own thoughts. Zuko wonders at the Avatar and if he'll actually be able to catch him this time. Katara just misses her brother and the little boy who's now family. Someone comes in to take away the plates of food and Iroh brings out his trusty tea pot.

"If Aang doesn't come what are you going to do with me?"

Zuko hasn't thought that far ahead. "The Avatar will come." It's been two days and he's starting to question the boy.

"I'm sure that even if he doesn't you are more than welcome to stay with us," Iroh says. It's his gentle way of saying that the prince will most likely not let her go so long as there's a chance that she'll be useful.

"When the Avatar comes to get you we'll be ready. The traps are all in place and we'll capture him. Then I can go home and regain my honor."

"So catching a little boy is honorable?" Katara scoffs, "It seems like that's the exact opposite really."

"What would you know about honor? Your people are barbarians that run around in fur and dresses that need to be washed. You smell like the back end of a Komodo rhino."

"At least I don't look like the back end of one!"

Zuko slams his fists down. "You're insufferable!"

"And you're a jerk!"

"I am not!"

"Are too!"

"At least I can bend without some stupid scroll."

"Try me tomorrow and I'll kick your ass into next week!"

"Fine!" The Fire Prince jumps up.

"Fine!" Katara jumps up too, glaring daggers at him.

"Fine!" He stomps out of the room and up the stairs to his quarters, making sure to slam his door hard enough that she's sure to hear it. She crosses her arms over her chest and flounces to her bed roll. With a flop she lands and begins to curl up under the blankets.

"Miss Katara, I'm sorry but the guards have to put the manacles back on you." She's still a prisoner and regardless of how comfortable she is around Iroh, that fact remains. A guard fastens the irons and walks out to stand as a sentry at the door. She lays back down and turns toward the window. The manacles will be a problem if she hopes so escape. She's not yet good enough to bend much with them on and she can easily be over powered in hand-to-hand combat with them. Perhaps she can bend a little bit of water into them and freeze it. It would expand and hopefully brake the lock. If they dock anytime soon she can try to escape then but it's unlikely that the jerk would let her be guarded lightly so close to land especially since she's gone without manacles during the day. Thoughts of escape and maybe occasionally of freezing the prince in a block of ice dance through her head as the ship rocks her to sleep.

The entire ship shakes! Fire spreads everywhere from a large hole on the deck. The fire benders are acting quickly but the crew is in mayhem. The deck is collapsing in places. The ship is rocking precariously. "What happened!"

"Something dropped out of the sky!"

Iroh has already run out of the room.

The guards are running towards the blaze to put it out.

Katara is up and in battle position.

Zuko is roaring and pushing the flames down.

A man scrambles into view of her. Sokka must be here to get her!

The fire is going out.

Mangled arms stick out of the wreckage.

A sailor catches a glimpse of a man with a large bandage on his neck with the water bender thrown over his shoulder but is distracted. It must be a guard.

Zuko gasps as the last of the flames burns out.

He searches the sky but nothing is outlined against the stars.

Katara tries to scream.

. . .

Fabric is wedged in her mouth and tied there so her screams are muffled. "I made sure you can't bite me this time." Her bending is stopped by the manacles and she can't reach anything except his back with her small hands which she is pounding away with. Her legs bang against his chest plate but that only succeeds in bruising her knees.

. . .

"We're still pulling people out Prince Zuko. Three dead and two injured so far."

Zuko sighs, this isn't what he expected from the Avatar or the Water Tribe boy. His men are dead and he's no closer to capturing the Avatar. "Do we know what happened yet?"

"No. It looks like a barrel of pitch and rocks was dropped and the impact made the deck collapse. As best as we can tell someone thought they were getting attacked so they reacted with their bending. That set off the fire." Lieutenant Jee is obviously shaken as he reports.

. . .

"This was built for the Avatar." Katara is strung up in an X, it's impossible to bend or even fight back. She can't scream, she can't move, and no one knows that she's down here in the corner of the brig with a psycho. "Now little water bender, you put me in quite a bit of pain and I'm going to put you in a bit too." His grin is terrifying and the knives he pulls out of his belt and sets on a nearby table are even more so. "You see, no one knows you're here, and I want you to get acquainted with some of my best friends." He smacks her solidly. "What you did is unacceptable and I won't let you go around thinking it's okay to do that." Smack. "There's a reason the Fire Nation wants to wipe you cretins out. This isn't personal, I'm just doing my duty." The large man thumbs the smallest blade and brings it to her cheek. "Hmm, no not that one." He grabs a different knife. There are no serrations, but the blade is thick. That one presses against her shoulder, right in the crease. Katara's eyes go wide with shock then pinch closed in pain. "You don't like that do you, little bitch?" His brown eyes glitter and he slices down cutting her dress, undershirt, and going through her breast bindings. Little bubbles of blood bubble out of the cut and he licks his lips. "I want to see you embarrassed, the same way you embarrassed me." With a few quick cuts her dress and undershirt fall away, the blue fabric pooling on the floor leaving her leggings which are quickly sliced. There's nothing between that knife and herself except her her falling breast binding and wrap bottoms. "That's much better now I get to see how pretty you look."

The knife presses deeply into her leg. With a flick of his wrist blood runs from her hip to her knee, the red oozing over caramel skin. She writhes and screams but she still can't stop him. The temperature drops drastically but the maniac ignores it, too engrossed in her pain.

. . .

"Did you see that! We wrecked them! They'll have to stop for repairs after that! I'm just happy that one of the fire benders lit the stuff like we had hoped!" The boys had dropped the make shift bomb and flown off to watch from a distance.

"It looked pretty scary!"

"It doesn't matter Aang, we just need to get Katara back."

. . .

"Nephew! Katara is gone!" Iroh runs up out of breath. They are nowhere near shore and from the bending he saw earlier he doubts she'd survive trying to swim that distance.

"What! Where were her guards?"

"They came to help put out the fire."

"They should have been watching her, that's what they're there for!" He can't believe this! That girl is his only chance and if she's gone then so is his honor.

A tired man looks up from where he is trying to clear rubble. "Sir," he approaches the banished angry prince. "She didn't escape, one of her guards took her down further into the ship."

Zuko pauses his pacing. Iroh replies, "No, all of her guards went to the fire." Something isn't right here, fear shoots through the old man. "What did this man look like and do you know where he was headed?"

"No, sorry but I don't know where he went but it was a big guy with an apron and a a big bandage on his neck." The sailor wrings his hands, afraid to upset the temperamental prince. Blood drains from both of the royal benders' faces.

. . .

Every time Katara is about to pass out Chang stops for a moment. He wants her to feel every second of this. Originally he had just planned on smacking her around a bit but when the fire had started at the end of his shift in the kitchen, he saw it as a sign from Agni himself. The water bitch deserves to hurt. Katara is criss crossed with lines of varying depths. Blood drips from her toes and freezes minutes after hitting the ground. Chang ignores the cold, he may not be a fire bender, but as a member of the Fire Nation he has some internal fire even if he can't harness it into flame. Tears streak her face but there's nothing she can do. The water outside of the ship calls to her and try as she might it doesn't come to her. He puts the small knife against her previously untouched face, the same as he did at the beginning. This time instead of switching knives he brings it underneath her wide blue eyes. He pushes it into her cheek and draws a line down to her jaw. The blood mixes with tears as it pours down her face. The blade slides shallowly over her neck, over her defined collarbone, down to her breast splitting open the delicate skin of her nipple.

Katara whimpers against the cloth. "You don't like this, water bitch? Oh yeah, I forgot about your tribe's sense of propriety." The blood fuels his sick depravity and he leans in to lick the blood off of her neck, a hand traveling down her stomach smearing crimson along the way. His fingers dig into her cuts, tearing them open further. Bloody fingers trail along her curly hairline and the door slams open. An angry fire bender charges in with fists blazing. It takes mere seconds for Zuko to survey the scene, Chang shocked and covered in blood, a knife in his meaty hands, Katara strung up nude and bleeding with cuts running from shoulder to hip and beyond. His blood boils. She is his prisoner! He will not stand for this, no one hurts his prisoner without his say and he'd never give that order anyway!

"P-Prince Zuko, I wasn't expecting you." The words barely leave Chang's mouth before Zuko's fiery fist had connected with it.

"You sick son of a bitch!" Chang tries to protect himself but his hands are burning and the blood splatter on his face is boiling. His screams rip the air. The prince doesn't hear or see the man at his feet clearly but looks through a red haze and hears bones crunch underneath his foot. Proper fire bending etiquette is forgotten as he kicks over and over and over again. The room heats up, the blood melting and running in little rivets before boiling. Deep crunches come from Chang's unmoving body.

Iroh finally arrives with back up and has to push down puke at the sight in front of him. He quickly shoos the guards away, trying to preserve at least some of Katara's dignity. He can't get past his nephew who is still kicking the downed man in the middle of the room in front of a terrified exposed girl. He lays a hand on his nephew's shoulder, shaking him out of the dark place that Iroh knows only too well. Confusion registers on the young man's face before looking down at his feet then over at the girl beside him. "Oh Agni! Katara!" He doesn't wait to unlock the chains but burns right through them instead and rips the. He helps her down and Uncle quickly drapes his outer robe over her slender frame. "I'm sorry. I'm so so sorry," Zuko mutters and leans forward to touch the cut on her face as if he can wipe it away. She flinches back, not registering that the person in front of her is different from the person who hurt her. Now that she has full use of her arms she uses them to their fullest extent. The blood on the floor rises in a sharp whip and the the hull of the ship starts to creak. Zuko backs up, away from the woman with murder in her eyes. She darts forward, the water headed towards his jugular. He starts to block, raising fire in front of him but it's not necessary. Katara feints right before contact and the blood falls to the floor. The thud sounds painful, but at least they'll be able to get her to the infirmary this way without her trying to kill them all.

. . .

Miles away Sokka grins ear to ear happy that his plan went so well. "We'll get you back safe and sound soon sis. I promise."


	4. Chapter 4

I hope you enjoy it! Please let me know what you think of the progression and characterization.

. . .

The pain is the first thing Katara notices upon waking. It's a sharp and stabbing pain that doesn't quite fit in with her last memory of being slung over someone's shoulders. She moves slightly and agony washes over her. That agony is familiar. That man, Chang, he was the one who grabbed her when the fire started. He took her to the lowest level of the ship and - she shudders at the memory. Everything is fuzzy towards the end, it just comes in flashes of fire and the smell of blood. The water bender tries to sit herself up with her hands only to find that her palms have been bandaged along with what seems to be practically every other inch of her body.

"Katara, you're awake!" Zuko actually looks relieved and she finds it odd that for once he's using her name.

"Can I help you?" She would have come across as cold like she had planned if she hadn't shifted her leg as she spoke. She yelps and quickly straightens her legs again. She tries to ignore the pain as she slowly moves. She ignores that he found her naked. She ignores that he probably found her with tears and blood and snot covering her. She ignores that she is hurt. She ignores everything that she wishes had never happened. She ignores the stupid prince and his stupid quest for the Avatar. She can't ignore that he tentatively touches her foot.

"I'm so sorry for what happened. I never" his voice cracks, "I didn't know that Chang was going to do that or I would have stopped him earlier."

"You couldn't have known." For some reason she comforts him right then. Perhaps it's whatever painkiller they gave her but right now when she wants so badly to hurt someone, to hurt the man responsible for her pain, she can't find the energy to want to hurt the boy in front of her with tears bristling at the corners of his eyes. "What happened to him, the man who did this?"

Zuko looks down, a little ashamed but not apologetic. He shakes a little answering. "He's not going to bother you again, ever. He's not going to bother anyone." That day was full of firsts, including the first time the Prince of the Fire Nation ever killed someone.

Katara can't help it, that makes her feel better. She's not a bad person for being happy that he's dead. "How long will I be in here?"

"Well, you lost a lot of blood." The sight of it pooled on the ground flashes to mind. "You've already been out for two almost three days. You should have regained your blood, but a lot of the cuts are deeper than they look and aren't healing well."

"What you're saying is that you don't know."

"Sorry." he shrugs, "There's nothing I can do."

"Aren't you the Prince, can't you wave a crown and suddenly the world has to bend to your will?"

"The world doesn't -" he realizes that she had actually been teasing him. The painkillers must really be doing a number on her. Speaking of which, they just knocked her out. In two seconds flat Katara went from animatedly talking to asleep snoring.

Zuko still can't believe what happened. He can still see her strung up, completely unable to fight back. He can still smell blood and feel the crunch of bones underneath his feet. Chang's face was bruised and broken by the time he was done with it. His eyes were wide open and bloody. His ribs were caved in and he was laying at an odd angle. The nightmares have had Zuko jumping from his bed armed with fire for the past three nights. In his dreams Chang and his father form a sick mix of torture and one moment Katara is the one being tortured and the next Zuko is the one being kicked until he can't breath, until he can't think, his scar burning again. That's when he jumps out of bed, searching the shadows for Chang or his own father.

When Katara next wakes there's a bowl of water beside her and a note from Iroh telling her that the practice will most likely make her feel better. She focuses on the water and feels it expand her senses but collapses onto the bed crying, wishing her senses would just go numb. Her soul aches and no amount of practice will solve that.

Katara next wakes up as her bandages are being changed. The salve they apply burns and she quickly covers the most painful part with her hand. She wills it to stop hurting. The salve soaks into her skin with a slight glow. The doctor looks at her astonished but Katara has already passed out again from the pain.

Zuko and Iroh are sitting next to her bed waiting for her to wake up. Their discussion of how long it will take to get to the next port is what she wakes up to. "Ah Katara, you're awake! The doctor said he wanted to see you and that if things go as he expects you might be able to leave today."

"What is he expecting?"

"You apparently have an extraordinary talent for healing. He wants to see if you can do it again."

"I don't know what you're talking about."

At that moment the doctor bustles in all business and clipboards. "You're awake, good. How are you feeling?"

She rolls her eyes at the man. "How do you think I feel huh? Let's see, an asshole tied me to a tree overnight, I've had manacles chaffing my wrists since then, a psychopath abducted me and used me as his personal pin cushion. I can't move without feeling like my skin is ripping apart and my innards are about to come spilling out everywhere. Other than that, yeah I feel great!"

"Young lady, that wasn't necessary," The doctor sniffs.

"Oh but it was, you see the asshole that made all of this possible is sitting right beside me at the moment like he thinks we're friends or something."

"Hey! I'm just trying to make sure you're not permanently hurt." Zuko shouts, the doctor's shushing being ignored.

"Like you care! All you want is to catch your precious Avatar and take him home to Daddy."

"You don't know what you're talking about!"

"Both of you!" The doctor yells. "I have work to do and I need you two to stop bickering for one second so I can focus!" They fall silent surprisingly enough. "Good, now Katara, last time you were awake and I put salve on you, you did some kind of bending that not only pushed it into your skin but it also stopped the bleeding underneath. I want to see if you can do that again."

"I'll try." There's a new form of water bending that she has a natural talent for! Healing would be so nice, especially since she can't move and can hardly breath without wanting to cry or scream or both.

"This will hurt." She doesn't say anything in reply as the man unwinds bandages on her ankle. "Are you ready?" She nods and bites her lip, ready for the searing pain. When it comes, she acts on instinct. Without noticing the stabbing on her other woulds, she reaches for her ankle and places her hands over the salve. She wills it into the cut and feels the raw flesh and some muscle underneath it. It's no easy task to stitch the muscle back together but the damage there was minimal. The salve soaks into her skin completely before she gets the chance to heal the skin. Her blue eyes are closed against the pain so she doesn't see the beautiful ethereal glow that comes from under her hands and the look of wonder on the three Fire Nation faces.

"That was amazing," Zuko whispers and unconsciously touches him own scar.

. . .

"I don't see what's taking them so long! That ship obviously can't go much farther, it needs to be repaired!"

"Calm down Sokka, we got them in the middle of nowhere." Aang doesn't like to use the word bombed even if that is exactly what they did. "There are little islands around here but the closest port is still a day away at the speed they're traveling."

Sokka groans. he's finally talking to the little Avatar again but that still doesn't mean that he likes the level headedness all the time. "They need to get there faster! Why don't we go fly Appa to the port and wait for them?"

"Okay, that's a really good idea." He doesn't want to admit that he's scared and guilty. If he'd never found Katara then he'd never have gotten her kidnapped. The boy conveniently forgets that Katara is the one who found him and the one who chose to go with him.

. . .

"There's no way I'm going to sleep in the same room as you!"

"You don't really have much of a choice."

"Fuck you."

Zuko takes a minute to breath and count slowly to ten trying to calm down and not retort angrily. Once he can speak normally he turns to the water bender. "It is safer for you in here." He doesn't mention that it's safer for his sanity also. He was scared when the girl had disappeared, thinking his chances of catching the Avatar went with her. He was petrified when he saw where she really was. He wants her where he can keep an eye on her. He wants to make sure that no one else hurts her. "Here's the salve the doctor wants you to have and he'll check on you every day. You're clothes are being brought from Uncle's room, too." Her blue dress had been burnt and she had been brought one of her Fire Nation dresses in the infirmary. With the help of the doctor she had dressed and then limped along with Genereal Iroh. Now she stands in the middle of Zuko's room, eyeing it suspiciously. There are no windows and the door has multiple locks. If he decides that she's staying in here there's not much she can do in her current situation. She swipes the salve and hobbles towards the bathroom, the soles of her feet raw with cuts and every step a nightmare. Without asking, much to Zuko's dismay, Katara shuts the door and water begins running from what sounds to be the bathtub. He prays that she doesn't choose to bend but let's her be. The guilt of her condition is eating him alive.

On the other side of the door Katara tries to take off her dress. The problem is that it pulls up over her head and her arms can't manage that in their current situation. Realizing defeat after a few times of excruciating pain she simply waits for the tub to fill. She's never seen anything quite like it, but it's not that different from the hot springs she's been to. There's one down in the South Pole that bubbles up from deep beneath the ice. Oh how she misses the cold and the furs and - well she misses being a kid. She may not have had much of a childhood, she may have been treated like a woman and given just as much responsibility but at the end of the day she could still look to Gran Gran to fix things if they went to terribly wrong. Things are going terribly wrong here but there's no one to step in and with a hug and a kiss make it all better.

The tub is full and slight steam rises from it. She steps in fully clothed and bandaged since the dress refuses to come off. She submerges herself in her element only to whimper as the water pours into her cuts. It starts to glow. Katara's never watched her own healing and is stunned by it. The water seems to have a life of it's own only barely prompted by the bender, reacting stronger than the salve did as it worms into nooks and crannies that the knives made, stitching some muscles back together. Her element takes care of her. It doesn't heal all of the cuts, that will take more time, but the glowing recedes as Katara relaxes finally not in large amounts of pain. The water level has receded by about six inches, the liquid having soaked into her skin. Carefully she unwraps the bandages on her arms. It's the first time she's actually seen the cuts that leave scarce amounts of skin untouched. Thin white lines from the shallow knife accompany deep angry red ones that run over her palms, up her arms, and disappear under more bandages. She trembles at the sight. That man butchered her and she was helpless to stop it! Never again will she be that helpless!

. . .

Katara emerges from the bathroom an hour later with no bandages and her sleeveless red dress with plenty of leg room is perfectly dry on her. Zuko stops to stare. The cuts are more healed than not but they almost seem to mimic the Avatar's arrows, running over her feet and under her dress to emerge on her arms and neck, twisting on her cheek. He doesn't register the deep gashes still on her. Again Zuko is uncomfortably aware of his scar. She approaches him and doesn't stop until she's right in his face. She's uncomfortably being so close to anyone after what happened, but she still remembers through the haze watching him fight. She remembers seeing him take down her abuser and while she may not like him, may not trust him, she is thankful to him and knows that there's a lot she can learn. "You're going to teach me bending. I'm not a Fire Bender, but I want to be able to take down any opponent."

The prince nods. It may be stupid to teach his enemy how to defeat him, but she deserves that much. After what happened, he would do anything for her, anything except stop chasing the Avatar and letting her go. "When do you want to start?"

"Right now."

"You're too hurt to be able to -"

"Don't you dare try to stop me Zuko! I'm going to learn this and you're going to teach me now."

He mutely nods and accepts her judgement, an odd thing for him. "Let's start with the basics." For an hour he walks her through the basics of fire bending and how he controls his element. It's different for her of course, but still she learns. She practices breathing and finding her element all around herself. They stop when her feet start aching again though she only tells him when she stumbles out of a kata. He won't let her get back up to practice but instead demands that she puts the salve on even if she doesn't bandage it. Instead of practicing on her feet, she demands that he fill the sink for her. He does. She concentrates on the water and tries something new. She can feel the bathroom sink, feel the pipes in comes from and she smiles. She moves her hands, still sitting in place, but the water still comes to her. When she falls asleep before dinner and the water splashes down around her Zuko rolls his eyes. It'll be dry in a few hours and he's starving. This time dinner is in his room instead of Uncle's, he's not about to let her out of his sight.

Uncle wanders in as a server sets down the trays. "Mmm! That's a fish roast if ever I have smelled one."

"Shh!" Zuko's hush is louder than Iroh's words had been. "She's sleeping."

A lump in the corner of the room stirs but doesn't get up. "Is she okay?"

"Yeah, she just wore herself out. She took a bath and when she cam out the cuts were mostly gone, it was amazing Uncle! I wonder if she can do that to old scars."

"Don't get your hopes up. She has raw talent, but she's still a beginner. Some healers can't do it even after years of study." Zuko's shoulders droop. He had hoped that she could do something about his face. "Here Nephew, have some tea. It will make you feel better. By the way, we'll be at a port tomorrow afternoon. What are you going to do with her while we're there?"

"I don't know. I'm thinking of having a fire bending lock installed though so she'll have to be out for that."

Iroh is surprised at that. "A bending lock, isn't that a bit extreme?"

The younger man's eyes harden. "I don't want anyone to get in here that shouldn't, and I don't want her to escape," he adds as almost an afterthought. They're silent for a minute, both looking into the candles for answers to unasked questions. "Will she be okay?"

The old general sighs, not wanting to think about it. "I'm afraid I don't have all of the answers. She might surprise us both."

"She asked me to teach her bending today."

"I'm surprised, Prince Zuko, she seems to dislike you for some odd reason." Said prince shoots him a dirty look and he just shrugs.

. . .

It's near three in the morning and the room is an inferno. Screams bounce off the metal walls and Zuko is out of bed in moments, ready to attack Chang or his father, he isn't quite sure which. His nightmares aren't the source of the screams though. In her frozen corner of the room Katara twitches and writhes fighting off her own demons. Her arms flail and water pulls out of the pipes in the bathroom. It attacks thin air. "Katara! Wake up, it's only a dream!" Screams still swallow the room until he shakes her even harder and her eyes pop open in fear. Water smashes into him, knocking him down and away from her.

"Don't touch me! Don't ever touch me!" She shouts. Her hands shake and tears drip out. "Oh Goddess, oh Goddess." She collapses in on herself, going from fierce bender to scared little girl. "I'm sorry Zuko, it was just a nightmare."

"I know, I have plenty of my own." He lights the candles and does the only thing he can think of - put on a pot of tea. His Uncle would be proud. His own dreams still have him shaken and the screaming didn't help.

"What are yours?" It's more to help her focus on something else than out of an actual desire to know but he slowly tells her.

"It used to be nightmares about my scar. I could smell the flesh burning. I could see him looming over me and I wouldn't be able to stop it." Once the words begin, they don't stop. "I keep screaming and screaming but he just keeps burning me over an over again. Nightmares like that all but stopped until the other day. Now they've just gotten worse. Sometimes he's burning me, sometimes I'm burning Chang only I don't stop. I keep burning him until there's nothing left except his eyes and they just stare at me completely soulless. Sometimes I see you, the way he had you and you're screaming and crying as he begins chopping you up but more often than not I'm the one that's holding the blade or the one tied up. I can't move and I can't fight back. And if I'm the one hurting you I want to stop, I want to stop so badly because you're crying and I know it hurts but if I don't then I'll get burned again but I know it'll be worse than before. I'm not allowed to stop." To his dismay his voice cracks, revealing the emotion underneath.

Katara has moved beside him and places her hand over his, squeezing. "I keep seeing Chang and the look in his eyes. It was terrifying like there was nothing inside of him except wanting to hurt me. In my dreams I can't move, I'll be stuck under a rock or at the bottom of the ocean with the water pressing down on me but not listening to me at all. I can feel him cutting into me and I'll be on that rack again. People will be looking at me and men," she shakes her head, she can't keep going.

"Did he rape you?" his voice is low and deadly.

"No, but he was about to. If you hadn't gotten there when you did." She hiccups through the tears she's not even trying to hold back. "I never thanked you by the way. You saved my life, thank you." Zuko smiles tentatively, not sure whether he's doing it properly. It's been so long since there's been a reason to smile at anyone other than Uncle and the girl in his room, the girl he killed to protect, is most definitely not Uncle. She returns it, the late night, tea, and the fear she's still trying to get over making her a more tolerant person, at least right now. If he wasn't Fire Nation, if he wasn't using her to capture Aang, if he hadn't chased them around the world, he could be a nice guy. The candles flicker and she moves the hand that isn't comforting and being comforted by Zuko's. She moves it to his scar, hovering right beside it. "May I?" He doesn't give a verbal answer but closes his eyes, leaning into her touch. She's the first person after the doctor to touch it. Her thumb brushes over the ridges and her fingers explore the feel of it. "I always thought it was a training accident but from what you said of your dream, it wasn't. Who did this to you?"

His heart breaks, not wanting to tell her of his banishment and shame. "It doesn't matter." he moves away.

"Of course it does." Her eyes bore into his and again she touches his scar, not waiting for permission. "You saw me naked and bleeding, you saw me vulnerable." Her voice softens, "What happened?"

He sighs and hangs his head. "I spoke out of turn in my father's war chamber. A general was going to sacrifice a bunch of troops, a bunch of new recruits who had never seen battle. He was going to send them in to get slaughtered as a distraction. I spoke up against it and my father punished me. He took away my honor, I can't have it restored until I capture the Avatar. That's all there is to it."

She gasps, "Your father did this to you. I am so so sorry."

"I don't need your pity." He turns away and starts to leave.

Katara doesn't let go of his hand though. "It's not pity." She pulls him back down. "It's not pity, it's anger that anyone could do that to another human being especially their family and sorrow that you had to go through it. Let me help you." She pulls from the puddle that formed during her nightmare. The water is cool against his burning cheek. She can feel the muscles, feel the burnt flesh, and she wills the water to fix it. The glow illuminates the room.

"How is it! Were you able to fix it?" He's almost afraid to ask. The drop in her shoulders is all the answer he needs.

"I'm really sorry Zuko."

He breaks their handholding and pulls away. "I shouldn't have expected anything else from a peasant." With that he storms out of the room. Water thuds against the door behind him and the guards exchange a puzzled look which he ignores. He stands on the broken deck, next to the bodies of the four men who were standing in the wrong place at the wrong time. He shouldn't have expected her to actually help him. What was he thinking, getting his hopes up like that? It was stupid and he knows it. He roars at the sky, fire jettisoning out of his mouth in a steady stream. How can he be so stupid! How could he tell her about his father? How could he have told her about his nightmares? What's wrong with him that he's not thinking clearly?

Katara doesn't finish her god awful tea but mutters about stupid princes. Just when she was coming to the conclusion that he might possibly be a halfway decent guy other than the whole Avatar bit, he becomes an ass again! Stupid fucking fire benders. She finishes her tea and goes back to bed after putting the water down the drain. She keeps the candles burning though, she doesn't want to see what's out there is the dark. She's scared, no she's terrified and all the brave words and actions are just a facade. She keeps thinking she sees Chang with his knives and his dead eyes lurking in corners of the room. The soles of her feet ache, but at least she can walk without hobbling now. Her palms are still sore, she had to hold her teacup with her fingers. Mostly it's the shaking that gets to her, like she's always on the edge of panic. She takes a teacup and fills it, bending the water till she can finally fall asleep again. Nightmares haunt her and and Chang's sadistic grin follows her but she doesn't wake up screaming.

Zuko doesn't go back to the room, instead opting to sneak into his Uncle's room and sleep on the floor there. Iroh wakes from his own dreams of war hours later to find his nephew sprawled out on the floor whimpering to himself.

. . .

It's almost noon before Katara wakes, after all she is Water Tribe. She may have gone to bed unnaturally early but that was only due to exhaustion. Before she started living on the road she would go to bed around midnight and wake around ten. Everything changed with the Fire Nation ship. There's no sunlight here but the candles are still flaring, apparently they have an unending supply of them. She starts to roll out of bed. Zuko didn't put on the manacles last night, she notes absently. He must feel guilty because they stopped her from fighting back. He deserves to feel guilty, this is all his fault isn't it? He's the one that kidnapped her. He's the one that's chasing the Avatar. He's the one that - he's the one that tried to save a bunch of troops from getting slaughtered. He's the one who got mutilated by his own father. It's easier to feel bad for him than it is to feel bad for herself. If she feels bad for herself then she has to admit that it really happened and that's not something she's ready to do.

She gets up, plasters a smile on her face and begins wrestling with her hair trying to tame it into it's regular do. Her hair pins were all destroyed by Chang ripping at her so she tries something else. A long braid falls down her back, tied of with one of Zuko's leather hair straps. There's no mirror in the room or the adjoining bathroom. Even without looking at herself -she isn't sure she wants to anyway since she can still feel the raw skin on her face - Katara begins to heal herself. It's not as easy this time, she has to actually focus on it. All of the other times it was out of preservation or at least the uninhibited desire to stop hurting. This time she's not in constant pain and needs to think about what she's doing. She starts on her feet, the cuts may be shallow there but she'll need her feet the most. It takes a few minutes to get the feel just right but soon she can feel the skin growing back together, all that remains of the cuts on the soles of her feet are thin white lines that will fade with time. Next she works on her hands. He had sliced deeply into her palms, exposing bone but the muscle had mostly stitched back together from the infirmary but mostly the healing session yesterday. Now she has deep gashes but they're not bleeding. Water floats in mid-air and she works it, the glow encompassing her hands and taking her breath away. She's more sensitive here than on her feet or at least the amount of heeling she has to do is larger.

Her face is next, she doesn't want to end up like Zuko with a big scar and so she makes sure that it gets proper treatment. The water is soothing to her cheek and she can hear a slight hum with it so close to her ears. It actually makes her happy, it's the first thing on the forsaken ship that makes her truly happy. The cut on her check is more shallow than anywhere else and so it heals the quickest. Within moments it's gone and her face is smooth again. There are plenty more cuts and plenty of places that need healing, but her stomach is calling and demanding to be fed.

She opens the door at the exact same moment as Iroh who's carrying a steaming plate of food. "It's so good to see that you're finally awake!"

"Yeah, I uh just woke up. Is that breakfast?" Her stomach grumbles loudly.

Iroh laughs, "If you want to call it that. It's almost noon." He sets it down and she begins to dig in. "I see your face is coming along well. How are you feeling?"

"Erm - goog." She tries to speak while shoveling the food in.

"Uh huh," Iroh pauses for a moment unsure of whether or not to talk to her about what's on his mind. What she's been through would put anyone through hell but she seems to be fine. He would rather that she lets it all out naturally instead of bottling it up like his nephew does. Talking to her about it can wait until later, once they're back at sea instead of getting ready to dock. "We'll be disembarking in an hour. Prince Zuko wants me to escort you around town for awhile." She shrugs, that'll make it all the easier for her to escape. Her feet are healed and she can run.

The ship limps into harbor with steam chugging out of the engine and the deck still a mess. Part of the hull was dented and a large section of the deck will have to be replaced. Katara steps out onto the deck in modified shackles. They're far enough apart that she can bend some but not so much that attacking is easy. Zuko had them specially done after the incident earlier. The wreckage is a surprise to her, she'd been attacked and then shut up in various rooms. She had had no idea about what it was that started the fire. "What happened?"

Zuko walks up, "Your brother and the Avatar, that's what happened. They bombed us and killed four good innocent men."

Katara's eyes widen with horror. "There's no way my brother would -" but she knows that's a lie. She watched him take on an polar leopard cub that tried to attack her when they were little. "Aang wouldn't allow that!" He wouldn't would he? She's not entirely sure of what the young Avatar is capable of.

"Well obviously he did." Zuko marches off. Messengers have been sent out to have all the repairmen and the locksmith come out to the boat so the prince oversees the moving of the bodies to the funeral pyre. Katara will be out with his uncle and a tripled guard - most of which are following at a discreet distance to capture the Avatar - until the locksmith has added the bending lock.

The full port city comes into view as the water bender steps off the ship. It sprawls out to the mountains and reeks of fish, but this is still her first real chance to escape.


	5. Chapter 5

"Look, there's the ship! Aang, there's the ship!"

"Huh?" Aang's wiping the sleep out of his eyes from his midday nap not quite understanding Sokka yet.

"Aang, Zuko's ship, the one with Katara on it, the one we bombed, it's finally here!" He's gesturing wildly. "You remember our plan?"

"Of course. We split up to cover more ground. You look of the ship and I look in the town."

"Good, and what happens if you see my sister?"

"I grab her and run and if you're not back at the meet up spot by sunset then I leave and go to the Northern Watertribe."

"Exactly, no turning back, no trying to save us. You get Appa and get out of here."

. . .

Katara stands there with her best polite smile plastered onto her face as Iroh goes on and on about Goddess only knows what this time. From time to time she nods and mhmms but all she's thinking is about how much he and Sokka should go on a shopping date. They could ooh and aah at all of the little trinkets and silly statues together. She's also looking for a way out. There are five guards with her and at least three others following her though that could be one man seen three times or fifty only seen three times, it's impossible to tell with the Fire Nation armor. The manacles will be a problem, but she can bend enough to distract everyone.

"Hey Iroh, let's go look at some clothes if you don't mind. I saw a fabric shop a ways back."

He smiles, excited that she's taking some initiative. "Yes, that seems like a great idea."

There are bolts upon bolts of silks and cottons and everything in between heaped high on tables. The shopkeeper greets them and immediately Iroh strikes up an animated conversation. Out of the corner of his eye he watches as Katara meanders around the shop heading slowly but surely towards the back. He pulls the shopkeeper even deeper into a silly story about kamodo rhinos, thankful that he told the guards to wait outside because 'it would be too crowded with all of them in there'. He loves his nephew, but he loves the balance of the world and an end to war even more. He'll never outright help her but he's sure not going to stop her. Katara runs her fingers over rich brocades sneaking away from Iroh slowly. He doesn't even glance at her. The manacles clink together and she freezes, pretending to be engrossed in the weft of brown cotton in front of her. No one notices. She eventually gets behind the counter and into the back door without anyone saying a thing. It's a small living room with and thankfully there's a door leading outside. The door opens to an alley with no one in it, no Fire Nation guards, no one to bother her at all. A breath of air she didn't know she was holding releases. She's free, finally free. There's not enough water to bend in the air around her or at least she's not that good at pulling it out of the air in mass yet. She'll have to wait until there's a puddle before freezing the locks to break her manacles. Until then she crosses her arms, trying to hide her 'accessories'.

The best idea would be to go away from the ship, away from the docks, away from anything slightly resembling the Fire Nation. Katara heads towards the mountains. Her first turn takes her to a sewer. After backtracking and turning the other way, she again takes a wrong turn and somehow ends up beside a large statue of well she's not sure what it is. Five more minutes of avoiding main roads but getting lost in the back ones and she starts to worry. Iroh must have noticed that she's gone by now. Soon everyone will be on her tail. Five minutes later, once the nervousness has really kicked in and she's not so worried about hiding the manacles but instead sprinting around side roads trying to get out of there, she catches a glimpse of orange and yellow. No, it can't be! The boy clad in nomadic robes turns just slightly and his headband is slipping just a bit. His arrow shows, it is Aang! "Aang, Aang!" Without thinking or caring Katara yells and dashes towards her friend.

"Katara!" She's not in her usual blues but is in Fire Nation reds so it takes a moment for the Avatar to realize it's her.

"Where's Sokka?" She looks around hopefully for her brother as they break out of a quick half hug.

"He's on the ship looking for you."

"We need to go get him then!"

"First let's get you out of those." He gestures to the manacles and grabs her arm. He grabs with too much force on a deep cut he doesn't know is there. She could have handled it except his finger slips right into the wound. An animalistic howl erupts from her mouth and she collapses cradling her arm.

Aang forgets that he's supposed to be getting them out of there. He forgets that there's anything or anyone else except the whimpering Katara at his feet. "What happened, what did they do to you?"

"Nothing Aang. It's nothing." Obviously it's not from the fact that she's still shaking though. Slowly she gets up but it's too late. They've been spotted. Her scream alerted them.

A guard stands at the end of the alley his arms up, ready to attack. There's no hint of when he'll attack until the flames are already rushing towards their faces. Aang deflects with his staff and Katara tries to pull the water out of the pipes running underneath the street. A pipe bursts but only a small stream comes. Three more men appear behind the first one. "Run Katara, I'll hold them off." The fire comes faster now and the guards are approaching quicker than she likes.

"No, you can't get captured. You're too important. Get out of here while you still can!" Somehow they're fighting ten off. Aand does most of it while Katara's trickle of water swishes around them only able to stop the closest of flames. What had at first been one quickly turns into fifteen men. The water and air benders just barely avoid getting singed but their energy is waning, Katara's especially since she's still recovering. The guards form a circle around them, alternating who is throwing fire. A weighted net tries to engulf them but Katara slashes through it thankful the water responds that much to her. "Aang, get out of here!" The men are getting closer, the ring around the two tightening. There's no way she'll be able to get out of this but he still can.

"I'm not leaving you!" He blows one of the against the wall but the circle just closes around where he was.

"You have to. Please!" She can hardly fight with the manacles around her wrists but deflects more blasts.

"Aang," For a second she takes her eyes off the fight and looks straight at him. "I'll be fine. The world needs you to not get captured."

"The world-" The little boy's world is right in front of him and time stops as her big blue eyes plead with him. "I'll find you!" Another net yanks him into reality and again Katara cuts it with her water. Aang opens his glider and with a final whirlwind is off.

"Get my brother and get to the North Pole! I'll meet you at the North Pole!" Those are her last words as she turns to look at him flying away. He nods, tears in his eyes and watches as a blast knocks her off her feet.

. . .

No one notices Sokka on the ship. Most of the regular crew is on shore relaxing or whatever it is that Fire Nation jerks do. The Water Tribe boy has donned red and blacks and waltzes around the ship, looking for all intensive purposes like he's an errand boy for one of the mechanics. If no one looks too closely he'll be fine. Now to figure out where she'd be held. If they have a dungeon, she'll most likely be there. After all, the jerk bender isn't a nice person who cares about accommodating his sister.

The craftsmanship is amazing! He's got to get a look at the specs - no he's here for Katara. "Hey kid!" Sokka freezes and a big burly man stands with his arms crossed in one of the doorways. "You supposed to be in here?"

"Yeah!" His voice cracks. "Uh yeah, I'm just going to you know get some food. My boss needs something to drink."

"Ah okay. Just watch out. We have a lot of falling metal around here and I don't want anyone getting hurt." The Fire Nation man smiles and claps Sokka on the shoulder before turning back to his work leaving Sokka nervous and a little stunned. He hurries along trying to get far away from the man who had noticed him. After several wrong doors and keeping his head very low he finds stairs. He takes them all the way to the bottom where it smells mildly of mildew and cells line the walls. A table sits in the middle of them all and the farthest cell door stands open with a man cleaning something up. Katara isn't down here though. His baby sister isn't here!

"You lookin' for the the Water Tribe girl?" Apparently the Fire Nation doesn't drill the backwoods out of all their soldiers.

"Yeah." Sokka's hesitant to reply.

"She's out in the town right now with a bunch o' guards, they're hoping to catch the Avatar. If you need to leave somethin' for her put it up in the Prince's room, she's there now after the fiasco down here."

His blood turns cold Zuko has her _in his room!_ Then the second part registers. "What fiasco?" He can't keep the panic out of his voice but the older guy doesn't notice it.

"One of the soldiers went off the deep end brought her down 'ere and cut her up. We're still cleaning the blood up."

"Still. Cleaning. Up. The. Blood?" Color drains out of his face and he goes cold. He can't move, he can't think. He's supposed to protect her but that's her blood on the floor. "What have you people done to her! What have you done to my baby sister!"

The Fire Nation man is pinned against the wall, his eyes widening as he chokes out, "You're her brother!"

"Yeah I am. And I'm going to keep her safe." He carries a knife at his side and it's pressed against the man's throat.

"No! Please don't 'urt me. Your sister is safe! I heard she healed up all her cuts real nice and pretty. Please don't hurt me!" The knife breaks skin and a trickle of ruby liquid spurts out. He can't do this. He may have killed men with the bomb but that wasn't on purpose. This would be a murder in cold blood. Sokka just can't do it. The knife drops along with the man who wheezes clutching his neck. Sokka is gone before the man can think of raising an alarm.

He has to hurry, he doesn't doubt that any moment now people will be looking for him. According to that man Katara is off the ship and so he needs to get off of it too. He runs up to the deck before anyone tries to stop him. "Hey you, wait!" There's the first guard in his way. Sokka jumps to the side using everything his tribe and Suki taught him. The man goes down with a kick to the knees. Another guard is felled by a whack with his boomerang. The next two are completely avoided as he vaults over the side of the ship and into the water below. Fire boils the water above him but he dives deep. By the time he surfaces he's far enough away that the fire doesn't hit him. He swims farther down the harbor and eventually crawls out of the water. His sister is hurt. His baby sister is hurt and there's nothing he can do. He needs to go back and wait for Aang, that's all he can do and it breaks his heart. He'll get her back. One way or another, he'll get her back.

. . .

Katara has a bloody lip and swollen eye from the guards. She doesn't realize that Zuko was almost as angry about that as he was about loosing the Avatar. The man who did it was put on bathroom duty. She's chained to the leg of a table that's bolted to the floor. She sits beside it an pulls but it doesn't budge, just makes her wrists sore. The manacles are closer together this time and despite her best efforts panic is rising in her chest. The inability to move, the inability to protect herself, it's terrifying. When her roommate slams the door open with a huff of fire she flinches afraid that he'll take his anger out on her. She saw the vulnerable almost normal boy earlier but now he is every inch Fire Nation and that means every inch a killer or something equally bad in her book. He doesn't say anything. He doesn't look at her. For all intensive purposes he acts like she's not there at all. She waits for him to say something but he walks over to his bed and flops down. The candles in the room flare up then cycle with his breathing high and low high and low, a strange hypnotic rhythm. The silence stretches on turning from seconds to minutes. He doesn't talk to her and so she haughtily turns her nose up away from him. She has nothing to say.

The minutes grow longer and the air practically crackles with tense electricity. Zuko snaps first. "We almost fucking had him!"

"Yeah well I almost got away from you creeps. Almost isn't shit."

"You shouldn't have tried to run. I could have gotten him if you hadn't tried to run!"

"No you couldn't have besides -"

"You don't know that!" The candles inch higher.

"Yeah I do and besides what did you expect me to do huh? Stay with your uncle like a trained lapdog? I want to get away from you animals!"

"We're not bad people, why can't you see that?"

"Oh I don't know!" She rattles the chains for emphasis.

"You're impossible!" The candles jump erratically.

Katara blows a raspberry at him and he rolls over. How could he expect her to not try to get away? There's no reason for her to stay an every reason for her to go.

Eventually Zuko turns back to her and sits up, head in his hands. "I'm - I'm sorry." The words are difficult for him to say. "I really wish you hadn't gotten hurt by Chang or the guards today. I wish I didn't have to hunt down the Avatar, he's a kid but he's the key to me getting my real life and my honor back."

"You're destroying your own honor by chasing after an innocent kid."

"Don't say that!" He roars though the crack in his voice is obvious.

Katara zeroes in on it. "Your honor is determined by your actions. It can't be taken or given by anyone else. What you did in that war room, that was honorable. What you're doing here isn't. Keeping me defenseless isn't honorable! Chasing after Aang isn't honorable!"

"You don't understand." Zuko stands on the middle of the room looking a lot smaller than usual.

"You're right I don't."

The door unlocks with a spout of fire from the other side and Iroh walks in carrying a teapot and the man behind him carrying a large platter as usual. It's dinner time and Katara stares the prince down clinking her chains together annoyingly. He doesn't notice. "Uncle where have you been!"

Iroh laughs, "Actually Nephew, it's funny that you should ask that. Miss Katara and I were looking at a fabric shop when I became engrossed in a conversation with the loveliest of -"

"I don't have time for this Uncle. What happened that you let her escape? You were supposed to be watching her."

"Wow, thanks for acting like I'm not right here, _really _appreciate that."

Zuko huffs and Iroh continues. "Anyway, I looked up and she was gone. Of course I was frantic and started looking for her but I found out that all of the guards you sent had found her and so I decided to help myself to a nice big cup of tea and a few pai sho games." His nephew groans and his forehead smacks into his head. Iroh's face changes into sympathy. "I'm sorry you won't be going home soon. However I'm sure it's for the best."

"Yeah sure." His and Uncle's ideas of the best must be radically different.

Iroh takes the lid off of his bowl and smiles. "Ah fried rice and fire flakes. I'm not sure how you'll feel about these Katara but fire flakes are truly delightful."

"I'd love to try some," she smiles sweetly. "If someone would get these off of me!"

"No." Zuko's mutters.

"What, you expect me to somehow eat with my hands tied up or oh maybe you expect me to shove my face into it like the little lapdog you so obviously want!"

"Uncle please excuse us." Iroh is hesitant to leave but there's really not much he can say without angering his nephew even more. Zuko's head drops into his hands once Iroh leaves and he sighs. "This isn't what I wanted."

"That makes two of us. I want to go back to traveling the world with my brother and Aang but I'm stuck here with you instead. You realize that other than this afternoon I haven't seen sunlight since I got on this stupid ship! I haven't spoken to anyone except you and your uncle and some psycho who tried to kill me!

"I already said I'm sorry about him!"

"I'm not asking you to be sorry about him I'm telling you that I'm going crazy here. You're cutting me off from everything and you expect me not to run the first chance I get?"

"If you hadn't ran we could have caught the Avatar and then be on our way to the Fire Nation! You wouldn't have to be shackled there."

"So what you think I wouldn't try to leave the Fire Nation? You think I wouldn't lob your dad's head off the first chance I got? You think that just because you have Aang that I'd be docile or some equally pathetic bullshit?" Talking with her hands doesn't accomplish much other than hurting her wrists though she hardly notices it.

"If you just stopped fighting us and realized what we're trying to do you'd see! I want this war over as much as you do but the quickest way for that to happen is for us to get the Avatar and win. Without that who knows how long the war will go on!"

"You don't care about the people that are dyeing because of the Fire Nation!"

"And you don't care about the men that your brother and precious Avatar killed. Those were good men, innocent men with families."

"They aren't innocent, they're fighting this war and trying to wipe my people out. I don't want to hear anything about innocence."

"Trying to wipe your people out? We don't do that, we're trying to help people, the world will be better united under the Fire Nation."

"Really, tell that to my mother, tell that to the Air Nomads!"

Zuko's puzzled. "The Air Nomads? We wiped them out because they were trying to kill us. They started this with their armies!"

"Their armies?" To his surprise Katara laughs at him. "Their armies? Do you realize that they had no military? Do you know that they are fucking pacifists? Aang's a goddamn vegetarian for crying out loud, there were no armies!"

"Yes, there were!"

"No, there weren't! I've been to an Air Nomad temple, there was nothing military there! There were only corpses of people trying to defend themselves from ruthless Fire Nation attacks!"

"I've been to an Air Nomad temple also and there was plenty of - stuff - " He trails off realizing that no, he hadn't seen anything militaristic except for the Fire Nation stuff left behind. He'd thought nothing of it at the time but now he's not so sure. "Can't we for once not fight?" There's a mild plea.

She smirks, she's won. "Can you unchain me?"

"If you promise to be quiet and eat."

"No problem."

As it turns out, Katara despises fire flakes. They burn and no amount of water squelches the fact that if she opens her mouth, she's almost positive fire will come out. By her second glass Zuko is smirking but trying to hide it with mouthfuls of rice. By her fifth glass Zuko is openly snickering. After making it halfway through her bowl and through almost eight glasses of water she snaps, "How do you eat this crap without your tongue falling off?"

The prince doesn't respond just pours extra fire flakes onto his and takes a huge mouthful. Katara groans and tries not to eat anymore but her stomach is still growling. Zuko walks over to his nightstand and pulls out a bottle. "Try some of this. It'll take the burn out of your mouth." He pours her a small glass that she eyes carefully before swigging it. "Okay, now swish it around and spit -" Katara swallows it easily. " You were supposed to spit it out so your insides won't burn!"

"Really? That stuff helped my mouth but it's weak compared to what we have back home."

"You drink?"

"I could drink you under the table."

He takes in her small frame and age, wondering at how she manages to hold any liquor at all. He'll win this in a landslide. "You're on."

. . .

The fires dance and the table is slightly blurry to the two benders. The room is warm and there's no one else around. It's just the two of them and for this moment they've forgotten that they're enemies. They've forgotten that his father is trying to rule the world and that her father is off fighting him. They've forgotten about all of it except that they are two teenagers who have never really been around strangers their age before. Right now they might even be friends. Katara is on the floor, propped against the table and Zuko is sprawled out by her making little sparks in the air. Her fingers absentmindedly run through his hair. The ponytail twirls around her fingers. "Why don't you have all your hair? What happened to it?"

"I don't get the right to have it all." He giggles a little. "It's weird to feel it against my skin just swish swish swish." He reaches up to grab one of Katara's hair loopies. "What's with these?"

She swats his hand away and stick out her tongue. "Don't mess with them, I like my hair loopies. My hair used to get all over the place when I played so my parents resorted to this. Plus," she whispers conspiratorially. "Sokka use to try and pull my hair so the braid is easier to keep away from him."

"My sister used to do that to me though it usually ended up with my eyebrows getting singed."

"You have a sister?"

"Yeah, Azula. She's what, fifteen by now."

"Wow, that's close to my age."

An eyebrow twitches. "You're fifteen?"

"Sixteen, practically an old lady in my tribe." She laughs and takes another swig. Zuko grabs the bottle after her - they don't bother with cups anymore. The liquid swishes around the bottom.

"Azula'd skewer anyone that tried to call her old."

"Azula doesn't sound very nice."

He shrugs, "She's not."

"Sokka's nice."

"I don't like Sokka."

"You would if you weren't angry all the time."

"I'm not angry all the time!" He slurs angrily with an angry expression. Katara bursts into a fit of giggles.

"Sure you aren't. Your face is like a sea prune half the time."

It's Zuko's turn to stick out his tongue and rolls over. Katara smiles and grabs the ponytail again. "Huh!" By the time the prince notices, she's already taken out the tie and divided the hair into three sloppy sections.

"'m braiding it. Now shush."

"No."

"Yes."

"No," Zuko's stubborn for the sake of being stubborn but the words aren't coming out as clearly anymore.

"Yes," Katara keeps braiding, not long before hitting the end and tying it off. "'s good." The hair sticks out haphazardly. She yawns loudly, not bothering to cover her mouth. "Now shleep. I get bed."

"No."

"Yes."

"Nooo."

"Yesh."

"No," Zuko tries to get up and go to his bed but Katara at some point has already gotten into it.

"I am Fire Lord. Go shleep on the foor peasant!" Zuko groans and crawls towards his bed, exhausted but ends up collapsing after three feet groaning. Katara laughs and curls into the down mattress and warm blankets.

"Tara, shorry about today and the other day. And about the other night. Didn't mean to tell you all that shtuff. I drink 'fore bed. Sorry. We're posed to be enemies, sorry. about your lips shorry. Real shorry for everything."

"I's okay," she mutters sleepily. "I's okay."

"Get Aang and make it all better. You come home with me an live. You'd be free. You'd be happy."

"You come home with me to live. You'd be cold but free. Really really free."

"Too cold. You come with me."

"No. Sleep now." Her words are muffled by the pillow.

"Tara." His eyes are blurred but his words clearer. "You'd like it. You'd have water and warm bed and happy stuff. Come back wit me." The water bender doesn't respond, she's fast asleep. Soon loud snores from both parties echo around the room.

. . .

**I know this might come off as an odd chapter since it went from being pissed at each other to getting drunk together, but it's hard to be mad at someone for a long time especially when you're stuck being around them a lot. Katara may hate the Fire Nation, but she's at heart a mostly forgiving person. Zuko is a big dork who wants to make people happy and while he may try to act like an asshole, I never thought that it would last very long in close quarters with someone.**


	6. Chapter 6

The sun dawns bright and early but neither Katara nor Zuko see it. Katara snores lightly, tangled up in sheets and blankets with her hair a medusa mess around her. Zuko sprawls on the floor his mouth wide open. There were no nightmares last night, there were no screams or fires or frozen corners. Instead, the two actually slept well. Eventually the sun calls out to the fire bender, waking him. The headache from opening his eyes is enough to have him wishing for the water bender's sleep schedule. Slowly the memories of last night return and through the pounding headache Zuko blushes furiously. His hair has all but fallen out of the messy braid but that's not what bothers him. She touched his hair but other than that he hardly remembers a thing. Bits of conversations float through the fog in his brain but they aren't very helpful. Something about Azula and another time he asked her to come with him. He groans, not sure whether to hope she remembers and can fill him in or hope she's just as forgetful as he is. How could a simple offer to help her cool her tongue turn into something as potentially embarrassing as last night?

He stumbles to the bathroom, his head and limbs detesting every move. He looks like hell. The hair that was in the braid sticks out awkwardly and his brushing just turns it into a wavy mess. His eyes are a blood shot and no matter how much he tugs his clothes they don't seem to look good. Every step is a nightmare that sends nails through his eyeballs but eventually he ends up in the navigation room standing beside Iroh. "Whew!" Iroh waves his hand in front of his nose theatrically. "You reek Prince Zuko! And you don't look so good either." The few soldiers in the room take in his ramshackle appearance and smartly get out of his way.

"Tell me something I don't already know," he grumbles. "I was hoping to get some of that tea you're always going on about to the men."

"Ah!" His uncle claps his hands together and heads out the door. Right before leaving he pauses. "How is Miss Katara feeling?" Iroh watches as Zuko's face turns a bright red to match his bloodshot eyes and shrugs looking thoroughly embarrassed. Good, it looks like she is safe. While he may trust his nephew, he knows how hard it is for him to hold his temper and leaving last night had worried him. Seeing a drunk Zuko this morning almost terrified him but thankfully it seems as though nothing bad happened. He'll still have to check on her later, once his nephew gets some good tea into his system.

The old man brews the tea in is room, watching the leaves soak and swirl around the pot. His nephew has been odd these past few days. It's been easier to see the boy he once was instead of the man he's pretending to be. He tries so hard to be what he's been told his whole life a good man is supposed to be like but doesn't realize that the last hundred years have severely warped the Fire Nation's sense of good. Zuko should be at home having fun, flirting with girls, dodging boring political parties, and learning how to be a good leader. Instead he's learning how to shut himself off entirely from everyone and ignore the man he really is.

When Iroh comes back with a full tea set Zuko's head is pressed firmly against the wooden pai sho table. Iroh sets the tea pot down gently and begins to pour. Zuko raises his head and winces at the light. He winces even more at the smell of the concoction that apparently passes as tea. "You're sure about this?"

"Nephew, when I was a general at the siege of Ba Sing Se we - "

"Okay, okay." He waves his uncle off. "I don't want a full story I'll just trust you on this." He downs it in one go, screwing up his features and gagging. "That was awful! What's in that!"

Iroh smiles mischievously, "You don't really want to know. Anyway, I'm going to go give some of the to Miss Katara. I'm sure she'll be needing some."

"Damn right," Zuko groans, "Crazy woman challenging me to a drinking contest."

Iroh's eyebrows shoot up and the men in the room who had previously been trying to ignore the prince or at least not snicker openly at him now turn to him. "Well, who won?"

Zuko groans even louder and kneads his forehead with his palm. "We both did." This time none of the men can contain snickers but the prince's usually deadly glare holds little ammo this morning. Iroh waltzes out of the room, proud of the girl for holding her own.

He knocks politely on her door but doesn't expect an answer. After a moment he heats the hole in the door, unlocking it. It was good that it got installed, this way guards aren't quite as necessary and Katara can at least move freely inside the room. There's no movement inside the room right now though. She's not on her cot by the wall. There's no sound from the bathroom. Panic builds for a moment until Iroh sees the her twisted in the sheets of his nephew's bed. That's worrisome. Right now isn't the time, he'll confront Zuko about it if it ever seems necessary.

He pulls a chair up to the side of the bed and slowly rubs circles on her back the way he used to do to wake up Lu Ten. The difference is that Lu Ten was relatively safe or at least felt like it. Katara is on an enemy ship and is very very aware of it. Her cuts still haven't healed all the way and even in her sleep she looks scared. As soon as she tenses up Iroh stops, wishing there was something he could do for her. Soon her breathing changes and she groans. "Good morning dear." Iroh's voice soothes her eyes open and she turns to him, squinting.

"There's a knife in the middle of my brain."

"I've had some of the Water Tribe ale, Fire Whiskey shouldn't be a problem compared to that."

"It's not, I just drank a lot." She pulls a pillow over her eyes and growls. Her stomach flops. "Excuse me," she stumbles to the bathroom and the loud sound of retching follows.

Katara pukes, fire flakes tasting even worse the second time around. Her hair is in shambles, her mouth tastes stale and acidic. Cuts still wind around her arms, her torso, and down her legs. Mostly now she has a headache, a pounding earsplitting throbbing of blood that pushes against her temples. Water pools around her hands, a soft glow emanating from them. It doesn't take long until the headache recedes and she stops practically seeing sounds. Her cuts absorb more water and she watches the tendrils sink into her skin. Her skin was normal, her life was normal, things were normal but now there's this ache inside. There's an ache that doesn't go away. The fire whiskey last night helped, for a little while she forgot about everything but it's all coming back. All the pain and the agony but no, she can't break. She's the strong one, she's the one that keeps the group together. There isn't a group to keep together though, no one's her for her to take care of. She's alone. She bites the inside of her cheek to stop the stinging in her eyes. It doesn't work. The hole inside of her chest just opens up and swallows her whole.

Katara sinks onto the floor and stays there sobbing quietly, the same way she cried in the middle of the night back home when she missed her mother and didn't want anyone to know. Her head is deep in her arms and the hot tears flow onto her pants. It's not fair. None of this is fair. Why her! thoughts chase each other back and forth around her brain getting nowhere and having no escape. She feels broken, like she can never be put back together again. A hand touches her shoulder and she flinches without realizing it. Iroh helps her up and back into the bed which is apparently now hers and rubs her back. She trusts the strange old man and clings to his chest like it's her only anchor, sobbing like her world is ending. In a lot of ways it is, in a lot of ways the Katara that first met Aang is a completely different person from the Katara crying on the bed and she knows it.

She left her home. She left everything she's every known. She got separated from her family. She got tortured by Chang. She had handled it all until Chang. Even after him she pretended to handle it all and at times she forgot. She would forget about what happened until something brought it back to the forefront of her mind. She could have escaped with Aang if it hadn't been for Chang's brutality. She could sleep easily at night if it wasn't for the cold sweats and thinking Chang's knife was slicing into her muscles. It all goes back to him. She's not even angry at Zuko if she stops to think about it. She doesn't blame him or the Fire Nation for what happened. It's all her fault and she should have been more careful she scolds herself far too often. She feels broken and hurt and doesn't know how to cope with the sense of loss.

When Katara's eyes finally dry there's no sense of relief, no happiness now that it's finally out. Instead she just stares listlessly at the wall, still clutching onto Iroh. He still rubs her back in steady circles. "It will take a long time Katara." She doesn't move. "It will always bother you but eventually the pain and the fear will fade. You'll come to terms with what happened."

Her eyes hardly move, "How can I?" Tears threaten to clog her words again. "How am I supposed to move on after that. He took my innocence away! He hurt me, it's not fair!" She starts crying again, each sob wracking her body. "I should have fought back. I should have stopped him! There must have been something I could have done!"

Iroh grabs her shoulders and wrenches her face out of his chest to stare her in the eyes. "Don't think like that. You couldn't have done anything, it wasn't your fault. Chang was a sick perverse man and what happened was in no way your fault."

"But I should have -"

"No!" For once she sees the general in him. "I have seen men destroy themselves with that kind of thinking. It gets you nowhere and just hurts you. Save the blame for the people who deserve it and you most definitely are not one of them."

"Then why does it hurt so badly?"

Iroh melts at her sad pained eyes and draws her into a tight embrace. "It hurts because you're human. It's part of all of us. Someone took advantage of you and that hurts." He spends the next hour or so sitting there comforting the occasionally crying Katara. He tells her stories of his adventures with his son Lu Ten and bedtime stories of the Fire Nation filled with dragons and heroes. He talks of a little Prince Zuko running around the halls of the Fire Nation Palace tripping on his own feet and of turtle ducks and bread crumbs. He's not sure how much of this she actually hears but continues anyway, knowing from experience that there are times when it's best to be alone but that this is not one of them.

Lunch is brought to them. Fire flakes are incredibly absent, not even a small bag of them off to the side like there have been with so many other meals. Zuko must have had a word with the kitchen staff. Iroh eats and Katara picks at her food. "I'm sorry about all of that, you shouldn't have had to see that," Katara eventually murmurs.

"Nonsense, as long as you're on this ship I will do my best to try and make sure you're happy. There's only so much I can do, but sitting with you is no problem at all."

She smiles weakly at him then resumes picking her food.

**. . .**

Zuko wants to go home. He wants his honor back. He wants his life back. He wants to not have to cremate his men. It's mid afternoon and four bodies lay on pyres. The pitch they're doused with reeks but it's necessary for them to burn. Le Sang, Karo, Azon, and Chensow, each of the men had lives had hopes and dreams. Two of those men had wives back in the Fire Nation. One of them had a child. Zuko may not have known them well but it's his responsibility to see them off. Most of the ship is there watching. Iroh appears at the last minute right before flames engulf the bodies. The fire hurts Zuko's still aching eyes but he still watches as they lick the bodies clean of skin and dark smoke rises into the clear sky.

. . .

Everyone's mood is low as they return to the ship over the course of the next few hours. A few still straggle behind, watching their friends' bodies turn to ash. For once the Prince watches his men, he watches their slumping shoulders and weary eyes. His honor may be the most important thing, but these men want to go home and that's important too. He needs to catch the Avatar so that this can all be done and over with. The deck is almost repaired, they'll be on their way soon.

. . .

Five days later Appa is waning. Sokka and Aang have resumed their pattern of hardly speaking. They stop for food sometimes, stop for rest others, but over the course of five days they've hardly said twenty words to each other after Sokka erupted from finding out what happened. Aang was so close to her and he fucking flew off! Typical! Now his baby sister, the one he's supposed to be protecting no matter what, is getting who knows what done to her in the room of the Fire Nation Asshole. He burns and wants to hurt something just thinking about it. A lot of trees where they sleep bear the marks of his frustration.

. . .

The ship has been dancing on the edge of Fire Nation water for days, waiting for the Avatar though it heads steadily north just in case, some of the guards heard Katara yell for them to go to the North Pole. The two teenagers have fallen into the comfortable pattern of Zuko rising earlier than her by several hours. Then after a hearty breakfast she heals her cuts - mostly gone by now - and then they spar. He teaches her bending forms and thoroughly different from her element and she teaches him how to respect someone. After that he sits with his Uncle and learns about the war and tactics. Katara wouldn't let it go and so she sits in on it too though no current strategies are used during those parts of the lessons. After that they split, Katara to her scrolls, Zuko bought her another one, and Zuko to current tactics and taking care of the ship. The three join for dinner then Zuko and Katara sit and drink until it's blurry enough to go to bed. Whoever gets to the nice bed first wins it for the night. They've come to an agreement, as long as they are at least a day away from considerable amounts of land she can be out and about on the boat with full guard without the manacles. She relishes the freedom.

Now, Iroh sits at a table with a large map spread over it in the navigation room - the brightest place without being directly outside. Katara sits on one side, her chin cupped in her hand trying to counter a frontal assault of Omashu and nearby coastal towns. She has five squads plush King Bumi and is trying to hold off three Fire Nation squads with komodo rhinos and war balloons. Zuko is in control of said Fire Nation troops and is trying to draw King Bumi out of Omashu by burning the crops around the villages. Bumi doesn't leave Omashu but instead has his battalions swallow up the fire benders, entombing them in the ground. The war balloons do incredible damage but don't last long against spires of stone. The earth benders miss several and the fire benders reform and dance around the outskirts of the city and it's holds. The guerrilla warfare is effective but the earth benders have the home advantage and use the terrain to find the foreign military, trying to get them before they move again. Citizens begin to starve and riots break out in the lower rings of Omashu. Politicians begin turning up dead. The Fire Nation takes too long on one raid. It'd been a day or two since they'd struck and they make sure to gather plenty of food since they don't know how long they'll be there. It was twenty minutes too long. Earth Kingdom troops show up and wipe the enemy out. Katara whoops, "Ha! In your face!"

"Your city's still a mess, it'd be no problem for me to come in and wipe it out now," Zuko retorts

"Yeah except you don't have troops left Mr. Princy Pants."

He shoots her a look. "Don't call me that." She huffs. Another term of the agreement that lets her walk about the ship is that she can't insult him or test him out here. Out of his room, he is The Prince of The Fire Nation and he has to demand the respect that is due with that title, whether he's banished or not.

"Good job Katara," Iroh congratulates her. "However, there were places that you both messed up. Katara, what did you do wrong?"

"I let the enemy get too close. I should have wiped him out sooner."

"Zuko, what do you think she did wrong?"

"Hmm," he's had years of this. "She should have pulled her people into the city along with their crops as soon as she could."

"Yes, but then Omashu would have been overcrowded and it's possible that the riots would have started even earlier."

"Katara looks at the map again, taking in the mountain ranges and remembering the time she had spent in the city. "My men should have built walls. If we had had walls around the villages or raised them on top of a mountain like Omashu is then the Fire Nation would have a harder time getting to them. We could have picked them off as they tried to get to the towns."

Iroh smiles, "Exactly, you're getting the hang of this. Now Zuko, what did you do wrong?"

"I spent too long gathering supplies, I should have continued to rely on grabbing only what was needed for that day instead of try to stock up." He thinks for a moment. "Maybe if I had split my men into smaller groups we could have hit more places, affecting moral."

"Mhmm," Iroh encourages him. "And what do you think he should have done differently Katara?"

"He should have tried not attacking in the first place."

Iroh sighs, eventually she was bound to say it. "These exercises aren't just about military strategy. It's about learning to read your opponent. It's about knowing your own strengths and weaknesses and being able to adapt. The skills you learn here will be helpful in everyday life such as in your bending or even arguing. This is all about predicting moves and being one step ahead."

Obviously she finds value in it or she wouldn't keep demanding to learn each day however Zuko is getting fed up with her holier than thou attitude. It's not his fault that there's a war but he's sure as hell going to make sure he wins it.

"I've had enough for the day." The old man stretches. "Why don't you two kids run along now."

"I'm not a kid," Zuko snaps and Katara rolls her eyes.

"Oh, Miss Katara," Iroh stops her right before she exits, "Tonight is music night. I'd appreciate it if you joined us."

"Music night?"

Zuko groans loudly. "No, no, no you do not want to go to that! And just in case you get any ideas Uncle, I will not play the tsungi horn this time!" Katara raises an eyebrow. "It was once, a long time ago and it's never happening again."

"Mhmm, sure," she drawls.

The walk down to the mess hall still gives her the chills. Each step lower sends shivers up her spine but she refuses to be crippled by her fear. Quite honestly she'd prefer to curl up into a little ball in the corner of her room, but she can't. There's no time for that. She has to keep moving forward and so she keeps descending the stairs. The man still aren't entirely sure what to think of her but they mostly like her. On one hand she's a filthy water bender. On another she was brutalized by a man on their crew and he's lucky that Zuko killed him - any of the crew would have taken it out of Chang's hide after seeing what he did to the girl young enough to be their daughter grand-daughter or niece or sister. She travels with the Avatar - the one who killed four of their crew mates. However, that's not her fault and she can't control what people do to try and get her back. Any of them would have done the same for their family. Plus, she's a healer. That much is obvious by the fact that the doctor doesn't have to see her and her gashes are completely healed. The fact that she offered to heal a man who smashed his finger and another who accidentally burnt himself helps a lot. Katara may despise the Fire Nation, but these men individually are good people or at least they seem to be. She holds nothing against them. Occasionally though a face will be turned just so and the flames reflect just the right way and she shudders away from them, away from the memory of the monsters who attacked her village but more recently the monster who tortured her.

"Thank you Lian," The cook smiles at her and hands her the best plate of tempura and rice - both very mild - with a little treat of custard. The big man would never admit it, but he likes having the girl around so that he has a valid reason to cook the sweets he so enjoys.

Yoro, a man in his mid forties with slightly greying sideburns and a weathered face, sits next to her as a guard. Jee, Asoko, Kuron, and Hyeng all wander over. It made her nervous the first day or two that they cam to sit with her, but now she expects it. Jee and Hyeng see a lot of their grand-daughters in her while Asoko and Kuron look at her like a little sister. Mostly, even with her dark skin and blue eyes, she reminds them of home and makes it a little easier for them to bear the two years they've been at sea.

"So I heard you whipped the Prince at war today!" Kuron punches her lightly on the shoulder.

"He didn't pull his troops out fast enough." The men hide their smirks from her accidental double entendre. There's an unspoken agreement to not let their usual crude sailor ways prevail around her.

"Good job! Somebody needs to teach that guy a lesson in humility." Asoko grins but Jee shoots him a glance. It's not a glare really but close. "What? The boy has his head up his ass, I'm glad she's here to pull it out."

"You know," she can't believe she's saying this. "That's just an act. He's not _that _bad of a guy once you get to know him." Oh Goddess forgive her for that. All five men look at her as if she's grown another head. "I'm just saying that if you don't let him talk to you like that then he won't. I think he thinks he has to be a jerk to be in control." She shrugs and immediately buries her face in her food.

"Just because he thinks it doesn't give him the right to act like it."

"No, it doesn't." The conversation starts to get angry but calms down when they remember Katara is still there. She doesn't need to get mixed up in this and they don't know if she'll say anything to the prince they so despise. Eventually the talk turns to letters from home. Yoro has a wife in the military. She's about to be offered command of a post on the southern tip of the Fire Nation. There are no women sailors so she can't command a ship and have Yoro on it though she might be able to get him at the new post. He doesn't mind serving under his wife, he grins wolfishly after stating that. Lieutenant Jee is a widower who went into the military command after his wife died. His two daughters went to live with his brother and now they have families of their own. Asoko is the oldest of five - the Fire Nation encourages large families. His two brothers are stationed on nearby ships and his two baby sisters - twins - are doing well in school even though they get picked on which pisses him off. Kuron has an older sister - married to some ancient admiral - and a little sister who got shipped off to the Fire Nation Academy for Girls because she's such a good fire bender. His parents are sad because they only get to see her on holidays. Hyeng hates the war and has been in the military since he was a child. After forty years of busting his ass all he has to show for it is a string of exes, five children, and one grand daughter. He carries his children and grand child's pictures with him everywhere. He puts most of his paycheck towards them.

Jee sets his chopsticks down and stretches "I have to get back to work. The Prince wants a full report of our spending on his desk or more accurately General Iroh does." With that the group begins to disperse. Katara's guard changes from Yoro to Asoko and they set off deeper into the ship so she can practice her bending. For the first few days her guards - whichever one it was at the time - got nervous being around the 'crazy water bender who ripped a guy's neck open with her teeth' but after seeing her struggle with her bending, the same way most of them had, and not make a single vicious move towards them, they relax. Once they relax it's easier for her to concentrate on her bending instead of being hyper aware that there was a man alone with her. Panic settles in her chest until they start to focus on something else. Today Asoko sits with a scroll of his own - some sappy romance that he doesn't read around any of the other crew members. Katara can connect to the water but it still doesn't stay with her mind if she moves too much and looses the concentration. Her bending overall has improved since learning about that technique though. She moves with the water instead of commanding it and hoping that it listens. Right now she's freezing an unfreezing the barrels of water. She pulls a thin stream out and copies the motions on her scroll. Pull the water closer. Push it out and let the momentum break up the water as it freezes into shards. Theoretically the ice can pin opponents or even kill them if necessary. She can pull the water in but ends up freezing it at the wrong point and a long string of ice ends up floating in the air. She tries again. This time it doesn't freeze until after it hits the wall. She groans in frustration. Again she tries. It's closer but still not the move she's trying to do. Asoko looks up. There's no fire bending equivalent to what she's doing and so he has no advice to offer. She continues, trying to isolate each movement this time.

. . .

Zuko reads the report from three days ago and a letter he received today. Spending is about the same it's been since this started and waste is too. The problem is that his father is cutting the budget, probably giving more to that bastard Zhou to fund capturing the Avatar. He swears. There's no way to avoid cutting crew members. Four died and that made a difference Fifteen men - including one deceased - have been transferred to Zhou's ship. At least they're not loosing their jobs. Fuck though! He's loosing his chance to capture the Avatar! His father is doing this on purpose, he doesn't want him back home!

Iroh knocks on the door hesitantly and peeks in. "You okay?"

Zuko snorts. "We're going to end up having fifty-one people on this ship including me, you , and Katara after this news."

"What do you mean?"

"My father has transferred some of my men over to Zhou's ship."

Iroh's jaw clenches. "That bastard." he doesn't often swear but this situation calls for it.

"Uncle?" Zuko's voice breaks. "He doesn't want me home does he?"

"Oh nephew, your father is -" He's not quite sure what to tell the boy. He could tell the truth, that Ozai is a heartless bastard, but that might break the poor boy's heart. He could spare Zuko's feelings and lie telling him that his father probably just wants him to build character or some equally untrue comment. Honestly his brother is cold, cruel, and sadistic. He decides on neither. "Zuko, home is wherever you want it to be." He pulls his nephew into a tight hug. "I am here for you no matter what and always will be." Tears drip onto Iroh's shoulder but when Zuko finally pulls away his face is clear. "You can do this."

Zuko squares his shoulders. "Thank you Uncle. Now we have to go meet up with Zhou's ships. According to this they're waiting about three days northeast of here near the Yu-Yan archer base." Iroh winces at the news. Yu-Yan archers are never good news.

. . .

Katara sits with her head between her legs and occasionally sipping a cup of water. She hurts. Her arms are sore. Her legs are jelly. Her shoulders are on fire. Overall it's a painful situation. Asoko hands her the cup again and she sighs as she takes another drink. "I got it though! I actually froze it at the right time and now I can kind of do the octopus!"

"That you can! Good job." He pats her back and winders again why more water benders aren't like her. They wouldn't need to fight this war if they were all this kind. Of course he's never met another water bender but still he's heard the horror stories.

"I might actually be able to beat Zuko soon."

He laughs, "Hopefully. You know, I'd pay to see that."

"Why do you all hate him so much? I can understand why I hate him, but you're all Fire Nation what do you have against him?"

Asoko stops laughing and thinks for a moment, trying to think of the best way to explain his loathing to the girl ten years younger. "Well, he's rude and thinks he's better than all of us. He seems to think we're only here for him to step on. He doesn't care about any of us and if we happen to get hurt, oh well. He just cares about himself. We've all been on this ship for about two years and the bastard - sorry - the prince still doesn't know any of our names. He called Yoro Akina the other day. How self-centered is he that he doesn't even learn our names? Someone like that shouldn't be in control of an entire ship, he shouldn't be a prince if he acts like that. Imagine what will happen to the Fire Nation if he ends up ruling. Besides, for his own father to make him fight an Agni Kai he must have done something awful."

Katara ponders over his words. She knows why he fought his father but doubts she should tell. However if it would make them a little less angry and more understanding then it can't be too bad to tell him. "He spoke up at a War Council. Some guy was going to sacrifice a lot of new recruits and Zuko protested. That's why he got burnt."

Asoko stares. "He told you this?"

"Well," she shrugs, "He was a little drunk but yeah he told me." Instantly she's embarrassed though not sure why and shrugs agains. "We both had had nightmares and were talking about it," she mumbles.

"So the Prince actually stood up for someone?"

"Yeah."

"That changes things. Hmm."

After a few more minutes Katara's sure she won't puke if she tries to move. She begins to stretch out all of her sore muscles, making sure she won't cramp up. Healing water is excellent during stretching. The knots that are beginning to form loosen with the blue glow and soon the pain is all but gone. "Come on." He stomach grumbles. "I'm hungry." Asoko grabs his romance scroll and tucks it away before escorting her back to her room.

. . .

**We see in season 2 Zuko Alone that even in the little villages in the Earth Kingdom people know what happened to Zuko so I think it's unrealistic to think that the crew didn't know. They may not have known why but they still knew what happened.**

**Also, thank you so so much to the people reading, favoriting, watching, and reviewing this! It's fantastic to know that people are enjoying this.**


	7. Chapter 7

"You're going to love music night!"

"No one in their right mind loves music night Uncle." Zuko retorts.

Iroh acts as though he's been struck through the heart. "You wound me Prince Zuko!"

Katara laughs. "Come on Zuko, it can't be that bad."

"You have no idea," he mutters. They take their seats by the fire pit. The crew has been looking at him strangely the past few hours but maybe he's just being paranoid.

A huge man with gargantuan biceps sits beside Katara and the prince tenses. That is until she smiles at him. "Lian! You're out of the kitchen."

Lian smiles back and his deep voice rumbles, "Yeah and I made you something special." He pulls taffy of all things out of his pocket.

"What is it?" She pulls one piece and to her amazement it doesn't come apart.

He laughs. "Salt water taffy. It's a desert." He doesn't tell her that it's his favorite snack too. Having a girl, especially such a young one, on board is the perfect excuse to him to make every sweet and delicacy he can think of. He loves making them but usually can't manage to since making enough to feed the entire crew is unreasonable.

Katara pops one in her mouth and her eyes widen. "Oh wow! This is amazing!"

Lian's face lights up and he dups a handful onto her lap. "Okay, I'd better go. Akina needs help tuning his instrument."

"Who was that?" Katara and Iroh both look at Zuko incredulously.

"That's Lian, the head cook."

"Really?"

"Yeah, he's been making your meals for the past two years," Katara comments.

"Oh."

"Yeah, 'oh'."

A darkly tanned fire bender, or at least darkly tanned by Fire Nation standards, strums a few notes on a pipa then stops to retune. There are no horns but two flutes, an erhu - a violin of sorts -, and a drum. Akina and Lian come back out, Akina with his five stringed pipa and Lian accompanying on the triangle. Thirty or so men lounge about on deck, done with their duties for the day. Iroh stands and coughs for quiet. "Tonight is a very special night! It's the first time that our guest Miss Katara has been able to join us for music night so let's show her the best that the Fire Nation has to offer. However it's a special night for an entirely different reason also. It's the last time we will all be together as a crew for music night. Unfortunately the Fire Lord has seen fit to cut costs and transfer fourteen of you to Commander Zhao." There's a hiss of discontent. "Please, I know how most of you feel about him but orders are orders and there's nothing we can do. We've already changed course to meet up with his ships. I'm sorry." Iroh reads out a list of the fourteen who are going to be transferred including Asoko, Kuron, and Akina. Their faces twist into disgust. Silence falls after the names are read until a long melancholy note cries out from the erhu's strings. These men have been together for the past two years, they are a family and now the Fire Lord has decided to rip them apart. How typical. Most of the men on deck are thinking various versions of the same thing and finding anger boiling up inside of them. The Fire Lord always separates families, the military always does. They thought they were safe from it here, at first the younger ones were annoyed to be stuck in this potentially dead end job but they grew to love their comrades and eventually were happy when no orders came to transfer. The two pipes join in with plunking chords. They aren't even really fighting a war on this ship, it's its own little floating island where the cruelties of war don't exist. They can forget about it here. The flutes carry a haunting tune and the drum underscores them. They've all heard about Zhao, his bloodlust is legendary and no one wants to serve under him if possible. Zuko's an ass who thinks he's better than everyone else or at least acts like he is, but Zhao is a bloodthirsty ass and that's a million times worse. Lian doesn't play his triangle, it lays forgotten at his feet.

The song sends chills down Katara's spine and the fire closest to her burns a little warmer until they pass. "Zhao is the one who attacked us during the winter solstice right?" She whispers to Zuko. He nods and she shudders. "Will your men be okay with him, he seems kind of," she pauses, "Off."

"He is. He's a psycho who's determined to capture the Avatar." The look she gives him speaks volumes. "Hey, I may be hellbent on capturing Aang but I need him to return my honor. Zhao is a sick animal who doesn't know when to stop and would rather watch the entire world fall to ashes than anything else," he hisses as the song continues.

"The men who are going, do you know any of them?" Zuko shakes his head and Katara decides right then and there to fix this. No one should be around the same people for two years and still not know them, it's not healthy! "Okay well the one playing the bigger pipa is Akina. He and Lian - the man who gave me the taffy which is delicious by the way - are best friends. Akina has no family back in the Fire Nation, they all died on a ship over to the colonies seven years ago. Asoko is the man who served as my guard this afternoon. He's over by the railing," she nods in his direction. "You see the man with the neck tattoo, that's him. He's the oldest of five and joined the military to help support them. His mother is sick right now. Kuron is standing next to the erhu player. He has an older sister who bullies him still even though he thinks she's amazing. He has a girlfriend on Ember Island though he doubts that he's the only sailor she writes to."

Zuko is dumbstruck. "How - what! You've hardly even been allowed to interact with people for five days. How do you know all this stuff?"

Katara shrugs. "I just listen and ask questions. You know, you have a lot of good men here."

"I thought you hated the Fire Nation," he jabs.

"I do hate the Fire Nation, I'm just finding that the people themselves aren't as bad as I thought. Now, do you want to learn more about your own crew or not?"

"Why should I? It's not like they care if I know them."

"Wrong. They don't like you and I don't blame them because you act so aloof all the time. You need to start getting to know your men, it'll make your life a lot easier and it'll make them trust you more." The songs continue and Katara points out as much of the crew as she knows, giving Zuko little details about their lives and encouraging him to actually talk to them. He's moderately unreceptive but mostly because this girl that has hardly been on his ship at all knows things that he already should have learned forever ago. Iroh watches from the corner of his eye, smiling.

. . .

Katara lays on her back on the bed with a bottle of spiced wine - much better than fire whiskey in her opinion. Zuko sits at the table scowling at her for drinking in his bed and downs his fire whiskey. "So which of the crew think I'm a bad leader?"

She rolls her eyes. "All of them. They think you're an ass who doesn't care about anyone except yourself."

"That's not true! I care about Uncle!"

"You're expected to at least try to care about them. If you want them to like you -"

"I don't need them to like me."

Katara continues as if he hadn't said anything. "You need to show some interest in them. You'll come off as nicer and they'll be more willing to listen to you."

"Hmpf. I suppose I see your point."

"Good. Now onto the next problem of what the hell do you have against music night? That was cool."

"That was not cool."

"Yeah it was, I've never even heard most of those interments before. I've seen them and people have tried to sell them to me, but I've never heard them before."

"Really?" He looks at her as if she's crazy. "I grew up around those."

"We had drums and bone flutes in my tribe but not a lot of time to play them." She falls silent, thinking of the icy cliffs and black waters of her home. "Your ship destroyed what was left of our wall but the little kids probably had a great time sliding down the mounds once we left. Hell, they probably had a contest to see who could pee the farthest off the top of it."

"That's gross."

"Hey, it's what kids do. Are you telling me you never did that or spit seeds or bones trying to make them go further than anyone else's?"

"No." The fact that his lips is curled gives a good explanation of what he thinks of those activities. "I spent my childhood doing much more dignified things."

"Oh really. What, did you do practice sitting up straight and never smiling? I bet I could tickle you and you wouldn't even crack a smile."

"For you information I do smile and I fed turtle ducks when I was little. I used to play with Azula and her friends and I chased lizards around the palace trying to catch them. I got into all kinds of trouble with that. Minister Guri absolutely hated them so I ended up with candy for each one I caught."

Something hits him squarely in the forehead. Fire sparks barely from his fists until he sees that it's a piece of salt water taffy. Katara sticks her tongue out. "You've probably caught a lizard or two since then."

"Oh um, thanks." He isn't quite sure how to respond to being pegged in the head by it but he'd been eyeing the candy since she got it so he doesn't try to hit her with it. "Agni fuck this is good! You have any more?"

Without her permission and definitely with the encouragement of alcohol he scrambles into bed with her, searching the blanket for more. "Hey! What do you think you're doing!" She kicks him solidly in the chest. His mind detours before coming back to his body which is spread eagled on the floor. "You can't just get up here like that!"

"It's my bed, you shouldn't be in it in the first place."

"Well you didn't seem to be using it."

"That's because you're in it."

"Well that's because you're not in it."

Zuo glares at her then takes another swig. "Fine," he grumbles and gets into bed, sitting as far away from her as he possibly can. "I'm in my bed. Now you get out."

"No." Katara's states, monotone, and crosses her arms over her chest. "I claim it, it's mine." She wedges a foot between him and the wall, electricity jolts through Zuko. Unfortunately for him, the electricity doesn't move him but again he ends up sprawled on the floor. Katara's foot hangs off the bed.

"Come on Katara, one more piece of taffy and I'll leave you alone."

"Somehow I doubt that."

"I promise. I haven't had taffy since I was little let me have another piece." She remains silent "I'll learn the names of all of the crew members if you give me another piece."

"You're not drunk enough to forget about that tomorrow morning okay."

He sighs and rolls his eyes. "Okay." She hands the piece to him this time instead of throwing it at him.

Katara may not be fully drunk, neither of them are, but she's had just enough to make the conversations between them easy. "Zuko, I want to go home."

Her comment takes him by surprise. "I know. I want to go home too."

"Aang's not coming back for me. You could just let me go."

"I know." He sighs. "I'd miss you though. You're my first real friend."

"I think you might be my friend too but I'm not a possession. You don't get to set me up on a shelf. We can't be real friends if I don't have the option of leaving."

"If you go I can't protect you. You almost got killed under my watch, I don't want anyone to hurt you again. You could stop being a captive here. You could help me catch Aang and end the war. We could go home and you could live in the palace, there would be plenty of servants to do whatever you want them to and plenty of guards to stop people from hurting you." He isn't sure when he started calling the Avatar Aang.

"I don't want that! I want to see my brother and Aang again. Zuko -"

"No!" Alcohol and emotion make his tongue thick. "You don't get to! You have to help me regain my honor."

"No I'm not! Aang isn't coming back for me and neither is my brother. I might never see my family again because of you! I won't help." Tears prick at the corners of her eyes but she ignores them and ignores the crack in the bottles as her anger mounts.

"Katara just -"

"Fuck you!" Crash! Her bottle is in shards on the blanket and his is in pieces on the floor. "You can have your bed back." She scoots off of it and goes back to her own bed roll ignoring fuming Zuko as he tries to clean the mess without hurting himself too badly. Eventually he goes to sleep in his bed. Neither of them drink enough to stop the nightmares. Zuko however is slowly but steadily needing to drink himself to sleep for other reasons. He is a teenager after all and quite obviously to him so is Katara.

. . .

"Aang, we're running out of food and money! We'll never make it to the North Pole at a decent rate like this." Sokka's stomach growls loudly.

"I know I know I just want to get there as soon as we can."

"We shouldn't even be going there, we should be trying to get Katara. It's been almost a week they won't be expecting us now."

"No Sokka, she said go to the North Pole so we're going to the North Pole. We can stop and look for some food though if you want."

Sokka huffs, pissed off that this little kid controls where they go and he's not able to move fast enough on his own to get back to his sister with any amount of haste. "Fine, I saw a village half an hour back let's go there."

"Good idea," Aang beams, "There were boats there maybe you can do some fishing, earn some money that way."

. . .

Katara wakes up late and alone in the room. The blankets are twisted around her and the walls are covered in a thin layer of frost. She's sweating bullets but can't remember her dream which is probably for the best. Her cuts are completely healed by now but she runs healing water over herself regardless. It's soothing and helps regulate her temperature, returning it back to normal after the nightmare. She strips off the red clothes she's been wearing and showers, letting the water rinse away the dregs of dreams. It still feels like her memories - what she has of that night - are muffled and fuzzy. She shakes off the thoughts, there are other things to do than mope. She has to keep going. The water bender dresses, pulling black pants on underneath a long crimson top similar to her Water Tribe clothes. The red is beginning to grow on her and while there's no mirror in the bathroom she still likes the way it makes her skin glow. She pulls her long hair back into a braid and ties it off with a leather strip when a reflection catches her eyes. There's no way! Her mother's necklace sits in the center of the table. In all honesty she'd forgotten about it in the mess of the past two weeks. So much has happened that the necklace slipped right out of her mind. Now though she can't tie it around her neck fast enough. The comfortable weight settles on her neck and an empty space she didn't realize was there fills up. Now it's time to face the day.

Hyeng is her guard this morning and they walk to the mess hall together. "You've made quite an impact little lady."

"What do you mean?"

Hyeng just laughs. "Just wait and see." He opens the door to an odd site. Instead of Prince Zuko holing up in the navigation room or attempting to pummel some of the crew in sparring matches he sits at a table awkwardly making conversation with the men. Her eyebrows shoot up, apparently he did listen to something she said.

He sees her and relief washes over his face. "OhKatarayou'rehere! Let'sgosparyouneedpractice." The words tumble over themselves as he tries to get out of the situation that is far out of his depth.

She stares at him blankly. "No Zuko, I need breakfast."

"Okay," his voice is strained. He wants to get out of here, he has no idea what the hell he's doing. The crew understands that and surprisingly is actually trying to make it a little easier on the prince even if they will get a laugh out of the awkwardness later.

Jee sits beside him, trying to coach the poor boy through small talk as Katara sips her morning tea and munches on warm oatmeal. After watching him struggle for another five minutes she finally opens her mouth, "So where's your uncle?"

"He's playing pai sho. He started two hours ago and is still playing the same game! How long can a game of that possibly go on?"

"I've played a pai sho game that went on for seven hours once," a sailor interjects, mostly to watch Zuko try to hold it together.

Miraculously he does. "That's great Nii. Come on Katara, let's train." He grabs her wrist and they're out the door in record time. The room explodes in chatter once the door closes.

"Did you see that! He almost turned purple but didn't fuckin' blow!" Nii roars.

"The girl's making a fucking difference. She got his head out of his ass!"

"Who knew, we should have picked her up two years ago!"

Far out of earshot Katara leans against the wall laughing, their fight last night forgotten. "You should have seen your face. Oh Goddess you looked like you were about to strangle one of them!"

"Hey! You're the one who told me to talk to them, you don't get to make fun of me for it." Against his better judgement he's laughing too.

"You did a good job, you did! I'm proud of you it was just so funny! If you'd seen it you'd laugh too." She collapses onto the floor, holding her ribs. The barrels of water are beside him and oh it's too good to resist. She bends a bubble over his head with a wave of her hand and pops it, water going everywhere.

"What the hell!" His mouth hangs open. "What was that for?" Katara just starts laughing harder and so he pounces. Years of avoiding this from Ty Lee have taught his fingers exactly where tickle spots are.

. . .

An old woman shoves her pointed fingers into an equally old man's chest, berating him. "I hope your brain can find someone else to haul that fish cause I ain't comin!"

Sokka hears it but his ears don't perk up until the old man retorts, "Then I'll find a new fish hauler and pay him double what you get! How'd you like that?"

At that Sokka practically salivates. He can already hear the clink of coins and smell fresh juicy meat. The cooking quality has decreased drastically since Katara got captured. "I'll go!"

"You're hired!"

"See Aang, simple as that. Soon we'll have money and food." Neither Sokka nor the old man realize that the clear sky will soon turn dark and vengeful.

. . .

Both Katara and Zuko emerge from the training room dripping with sweat. The humidity in there is deadly. "Did I hurt you?"

Zuko's slightly favoring his left side but says nothing. That is until she jabs him in-between the ribs. "Ow!" The sconces nearby flare and a cloud of smoke escapes his mouth.

"Come on, we're going back to our room. I'll heal you."

"That's really not necessary."

They're already at the bedroom door which he opens. "Sure it isn't." she replies sarcastically. "Now take off your shirt, I need to see it."

"No way. I don't need your help." He turns back to the door which she blocks.

"Yeah you do, you winched pretty badly a minute ago and there's no point in you going around hurt. Now shirt, off!"

He grumbles. "Can you at least turn around?"

"Come on Zuko, you don't have anything I haven't seen on my brother or Aang before." She resolutely refuses to turn so he does instead mumbling about the indecency of disrobing around her and how he is neither her brother nor a twelve year old little kid. She notices both of those fact as the shirt drops. A faint blush rises in her cheeks but she ignores it and leads him into the bathroom. More bruises dot his back and sides. "Are these from our sparring matches?"

He grunts. "Some of from sparring with my men too."

She frowns. "This might sting a little." The water pools around her hands and glows at it presses against his skin.

He inhales sharply, the tingling feeling odd underneath his skin. The muscles relax and the bruises begin to heal as blood flows properly again. Zuko sighs and leans into her hands. "That feels really nice."

"I'm almost done. None of it is very deep."

He lets out a throaty sigh. "Don't stop." Her eyebrows rise but she continues. This is thanks for her mother's necklace. She continues to work on his back, letting the water sink deeply into his muscles. His whole spine is in knots which she slowly begins to work out. She can feel the twists and turns inside of him and the way the energies are locked up inside. She delves in, working out the muscular kinks and straightening things out. By the time she's done tears of relief leak out of his eyes. "Thank you."

"It'll take a few more sessions to work everything out." She rubs his back for a moment then walks back into their room. That whole experience was odd to her. She could feel the anger deep inside of him and the strings of energy flowing through him. It's all jumbled inside of him. She keeps rubbing her hands, trying to get over the weird sensation of healing him. Someone knocks on the door before it swings open. Iroh peaks his head in.

"Is my nephew here?" Katara nods to the bathroom where he still sits. "Thank you. Prince Zuko, are you alright!" The sight of Zuko slumped over his knees sends spikes of worry through Iroh. "Are you sick?"

"No Uncle. Actually I feel great." Zuko smiles and for a moment Iroh sees the boy who disappeared two years ago.

"What happened?"

"Katara, she happened."

"Uh huh." At least they two are no longer at each other's throats. "Nephew, I'm afraid there's bad news. We've arrived at the port a day and a half ahead of schedule." The previously happy prince's shoulders drop. To add insult to injury Zhao barges in without announcement. Katara jumps into a battle pose, the water from the sinks bounding to her hands.

The slimy commander gives her a once over that makes her hair stand on end. Zuko is immediately on his feet, charging in between Katara and Zhao. "So, it's true. You did capture the Avatar's water wench." The water freezes until the angry heat radiating off of Zuko melts it. Zhao just laughs.

"What do you want?"

"I just wanted to make sure you got the orders for me to get your men."

"Of course I did," Zuko spits.

"Good, I want them on my ships by nightfall." Zhao begins to saunter off before pausing at the doorway. "Oh and I wanted to see if the rumors were true that you keep her in your bed." Zuko roars, the fire spewing towards the closed door. Iroh is fuming too but Katara is shaking with rage.

"Is that what people think?" Her voice is as icy as the tundra.

Iroh steps in, Zuko's still too infuriated to think clearly. Smoke is pouring out of his nose and mouth. "No Miss Katara. Zhao will say whatever he can to make a situation bad. I'm sure someone said that you two are in the same room and it just got twisted or Zhao made it up right on the spot. He's not above that."

She's still shaking but at least no pipes are in danger of bursting though the tempers of the two young benders make the room fluctuate drastically. "How dare he come onto my ship like that! He barges in here and ugh! That bastard is a piece of work." Katara nods in agreement. After a few deep breaths they both calm down.

"I'll go inform the men," Iroh states.

"Thank you Uncle. One thing though, don't have them leave until morning." The general grins, proud of his nephew for the small victory, and leaves.

"He's going to get the Avatar."

"No he's not! Aang is already well on his way to the North Pole, he won't get him."

"You don't understand Katara, Zhao has nearly twenty ships under his control and he's probably working on the Yu-Yan archers right now! They can shoot the flies off of wings." Zuko flops onto the bed. "It's hopeless."

"Fuck him." Zuko blinks. "You heard me, fuck him. If you can't get the Avatar then no one can. You've chased us through hell and high water and you haven't been able to get Aang. Zhao won't be able to do any better. If nothing else, make sure that asshole doesn't get my friend." For a moment she looks like a fire bender to him with the rage burning in her eyes but then he realizes, that's not the rage of a fire bender that's a water bender through and through.

"You're right. Fuck him. If I can't get the Avatar no one can."

Panic floods Katara for a moment. "Alive right?"

"Of course. What use is a dead Avatar? Now tell me, if I leave you alone in this room tonight will you swear not to try to escape?"

"What are you going to do?"

"Do you swear?"

"Do you swear to keep Aang out of Zhao's filthy hands?"

"Yes."

"Then I do too. Now, where are you going?"

Zuko goes to the wardrobe and pulls a black outfit off of the very top shelf. A blue mask sits on top of the neatly folded clothes.

. . .

**Enter Blue Spirit! Just so the timeline is clear, the storm is going on right now it's just a little north and very localized. I'm putting the last night of the storm episode and the first night of the blue spirit episode on the same night.**

**Sorry Carolyn but Zuko actually doesn't find out that she told anyone.**

**Thank you to everyone for being absolutely wonderful and loving this story!**


	8. Chapter 8

"Where's Katara! I'm gonna kill that fucker! Ima kill that fire bending fucker!" A delirious Sokka lays against Appa.

"Sokka, Sokka! Hey you're sick!" Aang squats next to him, poking the Water Tribe boy. "I'm going to go get help or at least try and get something to help you out. Just stay here. Don't go anywhere." It's pointless to tell him that but Aang has to say it anyway, Katara would want him to say it. A low burning hate has been burning in his chest since his forever girl got captured and his cowardice had him run away when he had the chance to rescue her. He'll get her back or at least go to the Northern Water Tribe for her, right now though he has to get Sokka better. There's an herbalist on top of the nearby mountain. Hopefully she'll have something to help Sokka.

. . .

Katara stands over Zuko with her hands glowing. The tendrils of energy are still mixed up but at least the muscles are looser. She's already healed the scrapes on his palms and knees from his adventure last night. For once he woke up close to the same time as her, actually even later than her since he snuck in so late. Upon waking he immediately asked for a healing session. "Please do as much as you can. I'll need it."

"If you keep Aang safe I'll do this every day." She presses deeper into his back and listens to him sigh. After an hour she's done, there's only so much healing she can handle at once and she's quite honestly at a loss of what to do about the twists of life force. "I need new scrolls. Get me something that teaches about energy inside of people okay."

Zuko nods, something odd flickering across his face. "Katara, how good of a bender do you think you are?"

"Pretty good, why?"

"How good is your endurance?"

"It's good. Why Zuko?"

"No reason, just curious." He shrugs off any other attempts from her to find out why he asks. "Katara."

"What?" She's a little annoyed with him now.

He pulls something out of his nightstand and hands it to her. It's a small knife. "Made in the Earth Kingdom? Okay?"

"No, read the other side."

"Ah," she flips it over. "Never give up without a fight. Why are you giving this to me?"

"My uncle gave it to me when I was little and I want you to have it. You fought me every step of the way when you came on board and you deserve this. Please take good care of it."

"Of course Zuko, but why are you giving this to me?"

He doesn't respond to her question. "You know how to use it right?" Her look is withering, of course she does. "Go get changed."

"Excuse me!" That's not something that he's allowed to say to her! He can try and control a lot but her wardrobe isn't something he can be bossy about.

"Please. Go put on a jacket or something. You'll need it." The please changes things.

Once she's put on a padded robe of his he nods. "Let's go get some breakfast then." It's nearly noon when they head down to the mess hall. Hardly anyone is here, they're out in the town or seeing their friends off. "Lian, I need as much jerky as will fit inside a knapsack. Please have it ready by the end of our meal."

"Sir, is everything all right?" Zuko's tight lips are all the answer he needs before scurrying off. Katara is already sitting chowing down on her rice and orange chicken. Zuko joins her and eats heartily though he's not actually hungry. His stomach wants to reject the meal but he has to keep it down to have energy for tonight. This is going to be a hellish night.

"Are you full?" She nods, they've hardly spoken today and she's still thrown off by his abruptness. "Are you sure?"

"Yes?"

"Good."

He grabs the knapsack on their way out, stuffing something into it and heads down even further into the ship. On the second flight of stairs Katara stops. "I'm not going another step! Not until you tell me what's going on. You're scaring me Zuko!" She doesn't mention that the deeper into the belly of the ship the more afraid she is. He stops cold and turns to her. Fear is plain on his face, mixed with worry and pain but he tries to hide is all behind a blank stare. "Just tell me."

His facade cracks. "I have to go somewhere and rescue the Avatar."

"And I'm coming with you?"

"No, I'm sorry but you're not."

She's shocked and a little upset. "Why not? I'm almost as good of a bender as you are." He looks at her, she knows why she can't come. He doesn't trust her to not knock him down and leave with Aang though he does trust her to not leave him in harm's way.

"Just come see me off, please."

"Okay." She agrees and grabs his hand before beginning the descent again. With each step she squeezes a little harder and Zuko marvels at the strength of her grip though he too takes comfort in it.

"Nephew!" Iroh stands next to a small open hatch with an equally small steam powered boat floating in the water. "Are you sure about this?"

"Yes Uncle. I already told you." Zuko turns to look at Katara. "I'm going to get the Avatar back from Zhao. Most likely he already has the boy. Katara, I'm never going to stop chasing the Avatar. He holds the keys to my honor and I need him for that. Without the Avatar I loose everything, my honor, my throne, my country. He can give them all back."

She shakes her head. "You don't need him for that. You have your own honor and nothing can change that."

The fire bender sighs and drops the knapsack before drawing Iroh into a tight embrace. "Be careful Zuko."

"I will be." His amber eyes lock with Katara's blue ones. Before he stops to tell himself it's stupid, before she can tell him to jump off a bridge, before any of that he darts forward and clumsily goes in for a hug. Her hair smells like Fire Nation spices and cool ocean breezes. She freezes but reacts milliseconds before he pulls away. Her arms go around his middle and she squeezes. There's something different between last night and right now but she's not sure what she's just suddenly worried that the boy who might be her newest almost friend won't come back alive. He smells like oranges and ginger and she drinks it in. All too soon he's gone, standing in the boat and looking at both of them. "Katara?"

"Yeah?"

"I think you can find your own way back." Her brow furrows. What the hell does he mean by that cryptic statement? The little boat is already too far away to ask him.

"Miss Katara?" Iroh has tears in his eyes. "Forgive an old man his weaknesses but please next time you see me, call me Uncle."

"What do you mean next time I see you?" Then it hits her. The hatch is still open. She's wearing a padded robe. She has a knife and a knapsack full of food. The fire benders aren't letting her go but they're sure as hell not trying to stop her. "Thank you Iroh, sorry, thank you Uncle." She pecks the man on the cheek, grabs the sack and is out the door, surfing on waves of her own creation.

. . .

That's the hardest thing he's ever done. Well no, not really, getting banished was the hardest thing but right now loosing Katara hurts a lot worse. It had to be done quickly like ripping a scab off. She was right, the Avatar wasn't coming back for her and it was just cruel to keep her there no matter how much he wants her with him. Maybe someday they can be real friends? For once in the privacy of the boat, tears roll down his face. This isn't at all what he expected when he started out on this journey.

. . .

Whizz. One arrow. Whizz another one. "Oh monkey feathers," Aang mutters and bends a shell of air around himself. Arrows fall to the ground around him. "Uh, I think you dropped this?" He doesn't wait for a reply but instead get on an air scooter an high tails it out of there dodging arrows left and right. Nervous sweat drips down his nose. One arrow snags his foot and he tumbles to the ground, getting a face full of mud. Another pins his foot to the ground before he has the chance to move. Aang tugs and tugs and finally manages to pull the arrow out. Another volley is headed his way! He runs on pure adrenaline. The problem is that his adrenaline runs him right over a cliff face. The ground drops out from under his feet but he keeps pedaling and air fills his clothes creating a parachute of sorts. Archers climb down the cliff face after him. The trees rush up at the airbender but he slows his descent. The branches whack his face and water cushions his fall. No arrows whizz by him and so he breathes a sigh of relief. The mud under his fingers twitches. "Huh? Oh! A frog!" A mostly frozen amphibian croaks between his fingers as he tucks it into his clothes. "Maybe whoever those guys are got lost in the forest, hopefully." He doubts it but he can hope. Quickly he tucks a few more frogs into his shirt and begins to walk off, careful not to air bend too much and leave any sort of dust cloud. He hops from tree to tree, trying to escape the forest as quickly as possible. Those archers aren't like anything he's seen before and they don't seem like something Zuko would do. That means someone else is after him and the little boy is scared. Aang picks up one last from. His hand reaches out for it only to watch in horror as the frog gets impaled. Aang's arm is pinned to the log beside him. The water around him rises up knocking arrows out of the sky. A net cuts through the stream stopping the Avatar's bending and preventing escape.

. . .

Katara is miles north of the ship she had been prisoner in, the waves propelling her forward. Adrenaline left her system a hours ago and now her energy is waning, soon she'll have to find a place to camp or else risk drowning. A small sandy cove calls her name, that's where she'll spend the night. First order of business is to find wood for a fire but each branch she tiredly picks up in soaked. She can bend the water out but she is oh so exhausted. Forgoing the fire she opens the knapsack. She can't believe it. It's filled to the brim with jerky and small pieces of taffy fill up any crevices. Tears of relief and thankfulness seep out. Katara tears into a piece of the meat and pulls out the scroll that's been jammed into the bag. It's a map of the world, all the Nations are color coordinated with the Water Tribes snow white. She has to go north. It's a good map but not detailed enough to help her. She has no idea where she is. The back of the scroll fixes those problems. It's an area map with the Yu-Yan archer compound at the southern edge of the map. It doesn't take long to find the large forest she passed half an hour ago so she must be in the little inlet above it. About a week of constant travel will bring her to the North Pole. Zuko said that most likely Zhao has Aang by now but she trusts Zuko to get him away from Zhao and trusts Aang to get away from Zuko. She lays down on the sand, watching the stars and the moon reflect off the ocean. For some reason again she's crying, overwhelmed, exhausted, and relieved. It's the first night that she's sleeps peacefully without having to drink herself that way.

. . .

Zhao circles the Avatar, strung up the same way Katara had been with his wrists manacled and pulled apart, the same with his feet forming a human X. "So," Zhao prods him. "You're the great Avatar, master of all the elements? I don't know how you managed to elude the Fire Nation for a hundred years, but your little game of hide-and-seek is over."

"I've never hidden from you! Untie me and I'll fight you right now!" This is far worse than he had imagined. He could handle Zuko but this monster of a man, Aang has no idea how to get away.

Zhao laughs, wallowing in the young boy's discomfort. "Uh no. Tell me, how does it feel to be the only air bender left? Do you miss your people?" He smirks as Aang's head and shoulders droop. "Don't worry, you won't be killed like they were. If you die you'll just be reborn and then the Fire Nation will have to begin it's search for the Avatar all over again." Zhao sighs theatrically. "I'll keep you alive, but only barely. Not like your water bender, she's alive and well. Did I tell you I saw her yesterday?"

"What!" Aang's head shoots up and again he struggles against the chains.

"Yes, I saw her in Prince Zuko's bedroom they were oh so comfortable there. Did you know she doesn't even stay chained, it looks like the banished prince has her trained already." Zhao's smile grows as Aang's fury rises and he jabs a little more. "I bet she keeps him nice and warm at night, giving away all of your secrets." He walks out, leaving a screaming crying Aang. The Avatar's arrows and eyes start to glow but stop the more he collapses in on himself, the tears streaming down his face.

"You don't know her! You don't know anything!" Air bangs against the door but unless he goes into the avatar state, there's nothing he can do.

. . .

All thoughts of Katara are out of the Prince's mind. Right now there's a job to be done. He rides into the compound underneath a livestock carriage, the driver oblivious. Once through the main gates he sneaks off, the black of his clothes blending him into the background. Now the question of where the Avatar is being kept. Most likely it's in the tallest building in the compound, it seems to have the most lights on anyway. He sneaks up the stairs of the wall surrounding it hiding in alcoves or pressing agains the ceiling whenever someone comes by. Zhao's unmistakably vile voice screams down the walls. It sounds like a speech of some sorts. After twelve more steps he reaches the origin of the voice. There's no other way except past Zhao and his entourage. Zuko sweats behind his mask. If he's caught - no he can't think like that. All of the men are looking out as the Commander now Admiral Zhao shouts about fire being the superior element. He crawls past, thankful that no one chose that moment to turn around. An open walkway is the next challenge. The walls are only a scarce three feet tall and Zuko can't crawl the entire way it would take to long. Crouching is the best option but he's more likely to be seen. It's too late to turn around, he's already invested. The Avatar is the key to his honor, the key to everything.

Katara's words echo in his mind 'you have your own honor' but that can't be true. What he's doing right now isn't honorable but that doesn't stop it from being the right thing, the only thing he can do. He sprints across the walkway in a crouch, no horns or alarms start blaring. Now he's close to the structure. He drops down over the wall on a rope and quickly finds a sewer. The mask blocks some of the stench but unfortunately not all. Human waste sloshes between his feet. There's a gate up ahead. It's not very effective since Zuko slips through the bars easily and begins the journey through the sewers. He comes up in a toilet stall, the hole in the ground large enough for him to crawl through. It's easy to figure out where Aang is, he just has to follow the sound of voices. Getting past them could prove much more difficult. At that moment croaking starts. To both his and the guards' dismay half frozen frogs crawl out from under a large door - no one else except the Avatar would have half frozen frogs with him, that must be the room he's in. A guard down the hall didn't hear the croaking and didn't turn to look so he doesn't see the Blue Spirit approach and put a soaked rag over his nose. After a moment of struggling the man goes limp.

Zuko takes the helmet and tosses it past the turn in the hallway. Yes, the four guards take the bait! One comes to investigate but in downed by a swift kick as the man tries creates a small plume of fire. The next two are felled by Zuko dropping from the ceiling between them, using his Dao swords to knock them off balance and quick strikes to their heads with the hilts to render them unconscious. The last man will be harder. He'll be on his guard and so won't go down as easily. Zuko walks around the corner just in time to see the last man reach for an alarm horn. The horn never makes it to his lips, a knife splitting it in half.

Fire bursts from the guard which Zuko dodges. No one can know he's a fire bender. As far as these people are concerned the Blue Spirit only uses his swords. He grabs the soldier's forearm and throws him over his shoulder, knocking the air solidly out of him. Fire benders don't go down that easily. The guard raises up, ready to spew fire but Zuko is already on his back and slams the man's head into the group, knocking him out.

Keys hang on a peg beside the door. They slide easily into the lock and it clicks open. Zuko's heart drops and bile threatens to escape his mouth. All he can see is Katara, her naked body strung up and bleeding. He shakes his head, it's not her. He's here for the Avatar. That doesn't stop the rage from putting more force into his swipes than necessary. The chains clatter to the ground and the Avatar's red rimmed eyes stare at him in awe. "Who are you? What's join on? Are you here to rescue me?" Zuko says nothing but cuts the manacles from off the boy's wrists and ankles. "You want me to come with you?" Agni this kid is dense he thinks so he just opens the door and walks out, hoping the Avatar will get the right idea.

They walk past the unconscious guards, Zuko fully intent on heading back to the sewers until Aang starts talking. "My frogs! Come back!" How Katara is capable of being around this buffoon is a mystery. The boy is chasing after the half frozen frogs when he should be trying to escape. Zuko grabs the back of his shirt and drags him along. "Wait! My friend needs to suck on those frogs!" Aang is ignored. They come to the toilet stall. "There's no way I'm jumping in that." The Blue Spirit mask makes Zuko's eyes hardly visible but Aang feels the frustration of the glare anyway. "I'm just saying -" Whatever he's saying gets cut off as Zuko shoves the boy into the sewers. "Eeeeeew!" Zuko keeps walking.

Eventually they make it back to the gate, the Avatar not saying anything else on the trip thankfully. Zuko slips through easily and so does Aang and they wait for the footsteps above them to fade away. Zuko pops his head up. The coast is clear. He guides Aang to the rope he used earlier and boosts the kid up. A deep horn blows, sending reverberations through them both. "Shit," Zuko mutters and Aang starts to climb quickly, the prince not far behind him.

"There, on the wall!" Someone shouts and Zuko starts swearing again. Someone else cuts the rope they're climbing up and they fall. The landing is cushioned by air bending and Zuko already has his swords at the ready when they begins sprinting.

"The Avatar has escaped! Close all the gates immediately!" Zhao roars.

Aang runs in front of the Blue Spirit. "Stay close to me!" Guards block their exit out of the closest gate but Aang bends a massive blast of air that knocks them all away and keeps running. Zuko isn't quite fast enough. Soldiers surround him, trying to jab at him with long spears. He dodges one, cuts the tip off of another one, dodges yet again. Aang makes it to the gate but stops since his liberator is so far behind. A guard attacks him. He bends the man through the closing gates and breaks the tip of the spear, using it as an impromptu staff. With a blow Aang pushes the soldiers away from Zuko and catapults him onto the wall. The spear he grabbed moments ago twirls in his hands, giving him lift. He flies over the wall and grabs the man who rescued him who is now surrounded by soldiers. Zuko clings to his leg, fighting off more spears. Aang can't get as much air as he needs to clear the next wall. They're dipping! They crash on top of the battlement sending Aang's spear spinning out of reach. More guards are coming up through a hatch. Aang darts towards the spear but it's knocked aside and he's forced to sidestep an angry soldier. Zuko grabs the man and flips him off the battlement, not hearing the crunch from the man landing. Ladders scale the battlement and men climb up quickly. Zuko slashes at them while Aang air bends people off the ladders. More crunches follow but neither Aang nor Zuko can hear them past the adrenaline. Aang grabs two ladders in a stroke of pure genius hands one to the Blue Spirit and shouts, "Take this! Jump on my back!" They use the them as giant stilts and Zuko's stomach wobbles. Once this is all over he's sure to be sick. They shed one ladder and use the next for the next step. The final ladder brings them almost to the wall but a fire bender ignites the bottom. Zuko and Aang jump off. Almost, almost, almost, they fall instead of getting over the wall though Aang cushions the fall again with air bending. They're right beside the gate, so close to victory and escape! Fire benders surround them and blast. Aang jumps in front and deflects the flames.

"Hold your fire! The Avatar must be captured alive!" Zhao shouts and the fires immediately burn out. Zuko however hears this and reacts by placing the dao swords across Aang's neck. Zhao glares but has no choice. "Open the gate," he spits.

An older man beside him pipes up. "Admiral, what are you doing!"

"Let them out. Now." The gate creaks open and The Blue Spirit walks out with the Avatar still in his death hold. Zuko walks backwards making sure not to trip but still using Aang as yards. Fifty yards. A hundred yards. They're safe! Zuko breathes a sigh of relief when pain erupts on his forehead.

Aang's liberator lies flat on his back, the mask askew. Something's different than what the Avatar's expecting, there's discoloration on the guy's face. He creates a dust cloud and reaches for the mask. It's Zuko! Rage erupts inside Aang and for one terrifying moment he wants to leave the man here. Zuko has caused so much trouble for him, he's hurt Katara, he's everything bad. Aang even goes as far as to begin to run away when the sick feeling in his stomach starts. Zuko saved him. Regardless of everything else, he can't purposely leave someone to be slaughtered. That's not the Air Nomad way. Aang sighs and heaves Zuko onto his back, running far away from the compound.

Aang makes camp far away from there and frets over what to do. Every fiber of his body says to hurt the man, kick him, punch him, do anything to hurt him but everything he's been taught, everything he tries to be goes against that. He leaves Zuko on the ground and goes off to find more frozen frogs, determined to confront the guy once he comes back.

. . .

Katara jolts awake, confused as to where she is. The sun is blinding this early in the morning and she wants nothing more than to hide her face in soft pillows but the pillows aren't there. She's become scarily adjusted to sleeping on that ship. Truth be told she was making friends with the men there, she trusts them even if they are Fire Nation and some part of her feels sick for it. She ignores that and chomps on more jerky, thanking Lian silently for throwing the salt water taffy in there which is quickly becoming her favorite thing to eat. Looking at the map again shows that she needs to continue following the coast awhile before having to get a boat at a northern Earth Kingdom town. She stuffs her scant provisions into the pitch lined bag and sets off using all the hours of bending practice to her advantage.

. . .

The weird annoying monk is sitting right beside him talking, probably not even aware that Zuko's now awake. "You know what the worst part about being born over a hundred years ago is? I miss all the friends I used to hang out with. Before the war started I used to always visit my friend Kuzon. The two of us, we used to get into so much trouble. He was one of the best friends I've ever had and he was from the Fire Nation."Aang laughs then his mood sours. "I guess Katara was right when she said everything changed when the Fire Nation attacked. If you hadn't captured Katara we could have been friends back then."

Zuko looks at him balefully, wondering how stupid the kid is and how the hell he's going to capture him without any rope. "Katara's safe."

Aang jumps. "You're awake!"

"Yes, and I might have captured Katara but she's gone now."

"I don't believe you!"

"I don't lie," His voice is monotone.

"That crazy guy who locked me up said yo keep her in your room!" Aang's face twists into one of disgust. "He said you keep her in your bed."

Zuko growls and pounces on the child but Aang's ten feet in the air and blows Zuko back against a tree. "It's not like that!"

"He said you had her trained and that she tells you all my secrets. What have you done to her! Don't lie to me!"

"I'm not lying." Zuko fights against the gusts of wind and watches in fascination and horror as Aang's tattoos begin to glow. "Katara left yesterday!" he shouts, trying to be heard by the enraged child. "She left when I went to get you! I didn't hurt her!" His back is smashed against the tree and a knot is digging into his spine. Any awe has turned to fear, the wind is so strong Zuko can't even move. "I never touched her! I swear! I swear I didn't touch her!"

"Don't lie to me!" The Avatar's voice echoes around the clearing and shakes the trees.

"I'm not! I couldn't hurt her if I wanted too! She's safe. She's a powerful bender! Please, calm down!" The tree snaps and Zuko goes flying. The last thing he sees before blacking out is the Avatar hurtling off in rage.

. . .

**Sorry Extended Experience, your smut just dove out the hatch.**

**SomethingIknow I'm posting this story as I write it so no you wouldn't have read it anywhere else. The first chapter and a half are on my tumblr but that's it. It might be because zutara capture fics are fairly common though I try to give it a different spin or because I've read a lot of fan fiction and maybe some of it seemed into my writing? If you figure it out let me know.**

**Thank you everyone for your continued support and encouragement!**


	9. Chapter 9

Holy fuck is she getting sick of Fire Nation jerky. Water Tribe jerky isn't nearly as spiced and not quite as hard either. The spices on the jerky from Lian aren't super obvious but after three days of eating only it and miscellaneous findings makes any and all spices far too obvious to her tongue. Katara is busy berating the first fire benders and their love of spicy food as she surfs along the coastline. Iroh's technique and her practicing have improved her bending tremendously and now she can actually feel things inside the water as she goes along. There's a large school of fish swimming away from her waves. Seaweed floats along in the currents. A boat is docked at the inlet just ahead. She stops, a boat is docked just ahead! With a push of her sore arms she's on land, hiding behind rocks. If it's a Fire Nation boat she'll need to give it a wide girth. If it's someone else then she might be safe unless of course it's pirates, that's a situation she doesn't want to get into again. The rocks are slippery and sharp but she scales them, her big eyes peeking out over the edge of them. A blue sail flaps in the wind. It's a blue sail attached to a worn out wooden ship with hide stretched over the frame. She'd know the design anywhere, it's Water Tribe! More specifically it's a Southern Water Tribe boat. There has to be someone around here from her village.

. . .

It took Prince Zuko the rest of the day and part of the following night to recover from the attack. It took him another day to make it back to his small boat at his decreased speed. It was midday of the third day before he finally made it back aboard the ship and collapsed in his quarters. Now he can hardly move his head or back, the muscles having stiffened unreasonably. Oh how he wishes Katara were here. It was for the best. She was right, she's not a possession. He didn't have the right to keep her. He hates this whole situation. He hates that his enemy is his friend. He hates how easy it was to fight beside the boy he's supposed to capture. He hates this stupid war. He hates his father for doing this to him. He hates everything about everything.

Now he has to figure out how to capture the Avatar all over again. Katara didn't work and really he doesn't want to face her. He doesn't know if he can fight her like an enemy now, not after all the drunken nights and whispered secrets, not after promising to protect her. Maybe he can whisk the Avatar away without having to face her. Who knows. Maybe he'll go up to the North Pole too.

. . .

Aang didn't tell Sokka about getting captured or any of the events that followed. As far as Sokka was concerned Aang was only gone a few hours, he was too delirious to know any better. However the Water Tribe boy started noticing Aang looking a little lost at times and staring off into space more often than usual. Once Sokka fully recovered they were traveling again though Appa stayed more to that coastline than usual. Just in case Zuko was right, that's where Katara would be, as close to her element as possible. Of course he doesn't tell Sokka the reasoning, not wanting to get another week or so of silent treatment in case the Fire Nation jerk ended up lying about her.

Large waves crash against the shore underneath them, unnaturally large waves. "Hey Sokka, does the water look different to you?"

Sokka peers over Appa's saddle. "Nope, not really."

"Hmm, well I want to check it out just in case."

"Just in case of what?"

Aang rubs the back of his head nervously. "Uh, no reason. Besides Appa's getting tired, we need to rest."

"Mhmm," Sokka's eyebrows raise but Aang just starts whistling. The waves look big enough to be from a bender, maybe not a bender trying to make waves but the left overs once they were done. Aang guides the flying bison to a hilltop where they land. The Avatar jumps down and immediately starts searching. A weapon catches his eyes. "Hey Sokka look at this! It's a sword made out of a whale tooth!"

"Let me see that!" Sokka scrambles down after Aang and grabs the weapon. "This is Water Tribe. Our men must have been here! Quick look for more!" They find burnt arrows and charred bark on trees all leading down to a sandy strip. "There was an ambush and the Water Tribe warriors drove the Fire Nation down here but," his shoulders slump. "I don't know what happened. They're all gone." Aang isn't listening, he's busy staring at the girl dressed in Fire Nation red caressing the ship further down shore. Long brown hair hangs in a braid down her back and her skin is a beautiful caramel tinted pink by the sun. A thick robe is tied around her waist and a knapsack on her back. A knife hangs from her belt.

"Katara," Aang whispers, not believing his eyes. There's no way they found each other, not this easily but there she is.

Her back straightens as she hears talking behind her. Water wraps around her as she turns to face her opponents. The water drops. "Sokka!" She can't believe it. "Sokka!" This time she shouts and her brother turns. "Sokka! Aang! I -" she doesn't even finish her sentence before getting run over by an excited air bender. He's all arms and legs and trying to hug her as tight as he can but he pins her arms to her sides as he does. It's all she can do not to scream from claustrophobia. Quickly she pushes him away and goes for a more civilized hug. He doesn't let go until Sokka grabs her around the middle lifting her.

"Katara! I missed you so much!"

"I know Sokka, I missed you too!" The siblings don't say anything for a moment, just happy to finally be reunited.

Aang hovers around, "I missed you too Katara!"

She smiles and rubs the top of his head before pulling him into the embrace. "And I missed you."

When the hug finally breaks apart Sokka holds her at arms' length giving her the mandatory big brother once over. "Are you hurt? How did you escape? What happened?"

She laughs, "I'm fine Sokka, stop worrying so much. It's you I should be asking all those questions to. Did you manage to eat while I was gone?"

"Yeah, we did all right."

"Don't let him lie to you!" Aang chimes in. "It was awful without you! Sokka tried to cook and blergh!" he sticks his tongue out to illustrate.

"But really Katara, how did you get away?"

Again she laughs, "A girl has her ways." She isn't ready to tell them the truth, she isn't ready to tell them that he let her go. That would lead to more question as she doesn't want to admit that she was a starting to enjoy the company of the Prince, Uncle, and the men on board. She doesn't want to admit that the Fire Nation isn't completely full of monsters. Sokka's mind jumps to the bloody room he saw and to the cleaner saying that she was being kept in the prince's room. Aang's jumps to what Zhao said. Both of the boys' blood starts to boil.

"I got on the ship when Aang tried to rescue you. I saw all the blood what happened?" Sokka's voice is for once deadly serious.

Katara shrugs and ignores the fear that rises in her chest with his words. It clamps her heart and squeezes the air from her lungs. "Nothing."

"Katara," her brother reaches out but she turns away quickly.

"I said nothing!" Her voice could cut glass and she swallows the tears, biting the inside of her cheek. Not now, she can't cry now. She is responsible for these people again. She can not have feelings of her own, she must take care of the group. She has to keep it together.

. . .

Iroh sits beside the prince drinking some tea. "You did the right thing."

Zuko rolls over and stares at his uncle. "I know."

"Have some jasmine tea, it will help."

"Okay." It's a testament to how bad Zuko feels if he actually accepts tea on the first offer. Iroh pours and hands the cup to his nephew who still hasn't gotten out of bed. "Uncle?"

"Yes Prince Zuko?"

"Did the Air Nomad Army attack the Fire Nation first?" Oh Agni that is not a question he wants to answer. "When she first started staying in here she said that there was nothing military at the temple she went to."

Iroh wishes it could be another way, he doesn't want to completely shatter his nephew's vision of home it's the only hope he has right now. However he won't lie to the boy. "Zuko, much of what you've been taught is twisted. If you want to know the answer though you need to find it for yourself. Why don't we go to an Air Temple and find out?"

"Set a course for the closest one. I want to look." Iroh nods and stands when the entire ship shakes, sloshing Zuko's tea onto his blanket. He fumes. "What the hell!" He jumps up and storms out onto the deck not bothering to put a shirt on. Jee inhales sharply as Zuko passes, the cuts and bruises an ugly yellowish green color. A tall slender terrifying woman riding a beast that instills just as much fear and shock is on board, the beast sniffing wildly about. "Who are you and what the hell are you doing on my ship!"

"I'm here for a stowaway." She replies calmly, almost ignoring him.

"There are no stowaways on my ship."

The woman cocks an eyebrow as the animal rips the rather newly fixed deck apart. Several sailors groan at the sight. A man pops up out of the hole, one that no one's seen before but the huge beast's tongue lashing out whipping the man across the back. "What were you saying about no stowaways?"

"He's paralyzed!"

"Yupp but it's only temporary." She hauls the man onto the back of the animal. "The toxins wear off in about an hour but by then he'll be in jail and I'll have my money."

"But how did you find him on my ship?"

"My shirshu can smell a rat a continent away." With that she's off to collect her bounty.

"Well I'm impressed. Very impressed in fact," Uncle watches her bound off.

Zuko nods, his thoughts racing. She could help him capture Aang and maybe Katara hasn't caught up with them yet. He wouldn't have to face her if she's not even with them. It's a good plan. Hyeng coughs, drawing Zuko's attention. "Excuse me sir, but your back is in pretty bad shape."

He shrugs. "I'm fine."

Iroh peeks at his back as hisses. It's the first time he's seen it and by Agni his nephew shouldn't be worrying about the Avatar right now or anything else for that matter other than getting those cuts looked at. "No Prince Zuko you're not! You're going to the infirmary right now." Steel is behind the words.

"No Uncle, I'm fine."

"Do not argue with me about this," Iroh grabs his arm and begins to haul the prince to the infirmary until Zuko gives up and shrugs him off, choosing to walk of his own volition.

He lays stomach down on the bed. It smells and all his thoughts are brought back to the months he spent here after his banishment. His wound was fresh and the burn would ooze. He'd screamed as the doctor had scrubbed dead skin off to let it heal properly. Right now the doctor stands over his back appraising the situation.

"What happened?"

"I fell," Zuko responds gruffly.

"Mhmm? And?"

"That's it."

"There's still dirt in a lot of these wounds I'm afraid I'll have to clean them out completely. That means cutting them open." The doctor doesn't wait for his prince's respond but instead cuts into one of the swollen masses on his back, letting the infection drain out. Zuko lays there with dead eyes, trying to focus on the hinges of the door. Alcohol is poured onto the cut to sterilize and help wash the dirt out. Zuko bites down on the bed underneath him, tears in his eyes. Iroh holds his hand. Zuko passes out at the next pour.

. . .

Sokka doesn't try to ask her about it the rest of the night. She changes out of her red clothes back into her normal blue, sighing in relief at the cloth that knows her skin so well. Sokka brings her fish and she sighs remembering that once again she's the cook. She doesn't share her bag of jerky. Sokka rambles on about nothing while Aang flits nervously around, his thoughts still on what Zhao said. Katara makes stew easily and they all chow down still talking and laughing about nothing between bites. Sokka volunteers to clean up and Katara and Aang start to get comfortable for the night. Aang has no problem curling up on Appa to sleep but Katara has a harder time with her sleeping bag. She can't seem to get comfortable. She wiggles into it again but her legs are too constricted and her arms are pinned to her sides. Her breath quickens and she starts to sweat before scrambling out of it in a hurry. She has to be able to move! She has to be able to defend herself if necessary.

"You okay?" Sokka wonders.

"Yeah, I'm fine. It's just this stupid sleeping bag I can't get comfortable in it." She appraises it wondering how to make it better.

"It was fine when you left."

"Yeah well it's not fine now!" She snaps then spots the knife beside her pack. That'll work perfectly. It may not be a real sleeping bag anymore but at least she'll be able to use it. She grabs a seam and sticks the knife in, cutting down the length of it.

"What are you doing Katara!" Sokka yelps dropping the stick he was prodding the fire with.

"I'm making it more comfortable." She grabs the large padded robe and settles back down onto her new fur blanket. Most of it is under her but just enough covers her body to make it good. The robe is thrown over the rest of her and finally she is comfortable. Ginger and oranges pricks her nose. Sokka is speechless. What the hell happened to his little sister that she'd cut up her own sleeping bag? He doesn't fail to notice the robe either and his blood pressure rises. This is all the work of that prince.

A twig snaps behind them. Katara isn't asleep yet as so she jumps into full bending pose. Aang doesn't move. Sokka looks up, his hand debating on whether to grab his boomerang or not. A familiar man clad in blue walks forward from the shadows. "Sokka?"

He'd recognize that voice anywhere. "Bato!"

The water whips flow back into the ocean and Aang begins to rub his eyes. "Who the what now?"

"Bato!" Katara smiles and runs up to the man along with Sokka.

"Katara! Sokka! It's so good to see you two! Oh you've grown so much!"

Aang cuts in and bows. "Hi, I'm Aang."

Bato smiles at the boy before Sokka starts talking. "Where's dad?"

"Is he here?" Part of Katara hopes that he is. Seeing her dad right now would be great but another part drastically hopes that he isn't. If Sokka tells him what happened she'll have no choice but to answer his questions.

"No," Bato replies. "He and the other warriors should be in the eastern Earth Kingdom right now." Sokka's shoulders slump and the wind off of the sea picks up suddenly. "Come on kids, this is no place for a reunion. Let's go inside." He starts to guide them off but stops to wait as they collect their stuff and put out the fire. Once everything's on Appa they head out again.

It's about a five minute walk inland to the abbey where Bato's staying. "How did you end up here, where's everyone else?"

"I was wounded. Your father caried me to this abbey. The sisters have cared for me ever since." Bato addresses a tall hawkish woman dressed in white robes. "Superior, these are Hakoda's children. They've been traveling with the Avatar, I found them by my boat."

The older woman bows respectfully to Aang. "Young Avatar, it gives me great joy to be in your presence. Welcome to our abbey."

"Thank you! It's truly an honor to be here. If there's anything - "

Sokka cuts him off. "What's that smell Bato? It's good?"

"The sisters craft ointments and perfumes." He motions to large vats of the stuff nearby.

"Ointments? Katara do you need anything?"

Katara shoots Sokka a withering glare which Bato doesn't catch. "Why would Katara need ointments? Is everything alright?"

Sokka opens his big mouth but Katara beats him to it smiling sweetly. "Everything's fine. I'm sure Sokka was just being weird as usual." She steps on his foot when he starts to argue. They follow Bato inside Sokka grumbling about not telling Bato and Aang straggling at the end of the party. Bato opens a small wooden door away from the rest of the abbey and ushers the kids inside.

"It looks just like home!" Tears form at the edge of her eyes and she wipes them away quickly. Home. She just wants to go home and fall into the furs and let everything go. Sokka squeezes her forearm gently. He won't say anything to Bato if she doesn't want him to. He doesn't know why she doesn't want to talk about it but he's a good big brother and he won't push her.

"Everything's here, even the pelts!" Sokka's hand leaves her arm as he begins to wander around the room.

Aang isn't quite as happy. "Yeah, nothing's better than dead animal skins?" Momo chatters and tries to poke a large platypus bear pelt only to snatch his paw away as the jaw falls closed. Both Momo and Aang are thrown off by this and the boy has to resist the urge to hurl.

Katara opens a pot hung over the fire in the center of the room. "Stewed sea prunes! I can't believe it!"

"Go ahead, help yourselves." Bato hands them all bowls and spoons and Katara greedily digs in. For her this is the ultimate comfort food. Her mom made it sometimes and once her mom was gone Gran Gran cooked it on especially cold days when the wind bit too much to be able to go outside.

"I remember Dad could eat a whole barrel of these." Sokka smiles at the memories. Aang isn't as fond of the food as his two companions are.

Bato opens his mouth, most likely to ask how they've been and what's been going on but Katara quickly and casually steers the conversation elsewhere. "Bato, is it true that you and Dad lassoed an arctic hippo?"

Bato laughs. "It was your fathers idea as usual, he just dragged me along. Well actually the hippo did most of the dragging."

At that Aang perks up, "Hey I ride animals too! One time there was this giant eel -"

"That's nice Aang." Katara smiles sweetly at him but really doesn't care, she's missed having people from her tribe around. Aang wilts as she turns away.

"So who was it that came up with the great blubber fiasco?"

Bato winces, "You guys know about that?"

"Everyone does. It's one of Maru's favorite stories to tell," Katara replies.

"What's the story?" Bang asks.

Sokka waves him off. "Another time Aang, it's a long story."

"Okay," he mutters.

"You and Dad had such a good time, so many hilarious stories have come from your adventures."

"They weren't so hilarious at the time." Bato straightens, "Aang put that down! It's ceremonial and very fragile!" Aang sighs and replaces a large headdress on a hook.

Sokka starts asking questions again, happy to hear the stories of his youth again. "Was it you or Dad that put an octopus on your head and convinced Gran Gran that you were an ocean spirit?"

"Oh I'd nearly forgotten about that! Your dad wore the octopus but I did the spooky voices. Oooooh," he wiggles his fingers and makes funny voices for a moment. "Those were good times." He looks at Sokka, wishing the boy had been able to have a longer childhood and be stupid more instead of shouldering responsibility once the warriors left. When his own father had left the tribe was still large enough that he and Hakoda had been able to fool around without always having to worry about something. "I'm expecting a letter from your father by the way. It should arrive any day now."

Both of the kids smile. "Really?"

"Yeah and if you wait here until it arrives we can all go to the rendezvous point together!"

"It's been over two years since we've seen Dad. That would be fantastic. Katara?"

"I really do miss him. I'd love to see him." She beams and Aang slumps out the door without anyone noticing, his heart breaking. He almost let someone die because of her and she's willing to leave him behind! He runs to Appa and starts to cry.

Back in the room Bato states, "It's been far too long hasn't it? I'm not sure when word will arrive but when it does -" his words trail off.

"It'd be great to see Dad but we can't, not this time. We have to take Aang to the North Pole." Sokka deflates.

Katara adds, "We don't know when the letter will get here or how far away Dad is. We don't have time for a detour."

Bato nods, "I'm sure your father will understand and be proud that his children are traveling with the Avatar."

"Thanks, I hope so."

"So kids, how has it been, traveling with the Avatar?"

Katara quickly answers, "It's been good, really fun. We've been all over the place and seen lots of new things. How about you, how's the war going?" Sokka stares at her dumbfounded.

"It's going that's about it." Bato sighs. "So tell me, what's the newest adventure you three have had."

"Oh nothing much, we've just been flying around on Appa."

"Katara!" Sokka can't believe she's lying! He may silently agreed to not tell Bato but he's not going to let her out right lie to him!

"Sokka don't you dare!"

"Why? What the hell happened that makes it so you don't want to talk about it? You don't even want to tell Bato, a family friend, a member of our tribe, that it happened at all!"

The pot of stew is freezing. Bato looks from one fuming sibling to the next. "What's going on Katara?"

"Nothing!" she snaps.

"Bullshit! You got captured by Prince Zuko and there was blood everywhere and he was keeping you in his fucking room and you want to call it nothing! That's not nothing, that's definitely something! You were gone for almost three weeks and you come back and try to act like nothing happened! You ripped up your sleeping bag, you jump into battle poses, and you fucking sleep with that damned robe! No one in their right mind keeps shit like that once they escape!"

"It was a gift okay!" She waves her arms angrily and the stew sloshes around. "Zuko fucking went to rescue Aang from Zhao who believe me is a million times worse than Zuko could possibly be. He gave me the knife, the robe, and the huge ass bag of jerky with a map before he left and then he fucking left the hatch open and turned away. And for your information before I hear one god damn word about it he didn't hurt me, in fact he protected me from the man who fucking tortured me!" Angry tears roll down her face as she smacks her brother with a water whip and stalks out the door.

"Sokka," Bato's voice is chilly. "What exactly happened to your sister?"

He shudders at the memory of the room he saw but tell Bato everything he knows from prince zuko chasing them to the pirates to trying to rescue her and finding the bloody room to hearing about her being in the prince's room to finally seeing her by the boat. It's not much but by the end of it Sokka is sobbing and Bato is severely worried for the girl.

Aang struts in, his mood drastically different from when he left. "Hey sorry I was gone so long." he takes in the scene, "Is everything okay?"

Bato replies, "What do you know about what happened to Katara and what did she mean when she said that Zuko went to rescue you from Zhao?"

Aang's heart stops. "Uuh nothing." Bato's eyes bore into him and Sokka raises his head and animalistic snarl on his face. "Just well uh" He starts talking quickly hardly pausing for air, "I saw her in the market and she had manacles around her wrists we hugged but when I tried to grab her arm to bring her with me her arm felt funny through the clothes and she started screaming the guards found us and attacked us she made me promise to go the the Northern Water Tribe and so I flew off then Sokka and went fishing and got really really sick because of the storm he got caught in and I had to go catch some frozen frogs for him to suck on Zhao had archers that trapped me and I got chained up inside some Fire Nation place and Zhao started talking to me about being the last air bender and how he wasn't going to kill me because I'm the Avatar but he said that he saw Katara the other day and that she wasn't wearing manacles then and that Zuko must have her trained and that she sleeps with him then Zuko came dressed up in a mask so I didn't know it was him and got me out of there we fought off a bunch of soldiers but when we finally escaped Zuko got hit in the head with an arrow and it knocked him unconscious I took the mask off and saw that it was him and wanted to leave him there but I couldn't do that no matter how much I hate him so we went to a clearing and I collected more frogs and waited till Zuko woke up once he did he told me she was safe and that he'd let her go and that he wasn't doing anything to her but I didn't believe him and ended up going into the Avatar State and knocking him out then I ran off and started looking for Katara along the coast hoping that if he told the truth then that's where she'd be." He gasps and takes a huge breath before finishing. "We found her today and then met you."

Bato thinks a moment. "I need to go talk to her." He finds her in the ocean by the ship, the water twirling up around her. It darts forward with her arms and swings around with her wrists. There's a sharp aggression to it that he's never seen in a water bender and some of the moves seem to have a base in fire bender with their fast movements. "Katara?"

The water above her turns to ice. "What do you want?"

"I want to see how you're holding up. Being a captive can take a lot out of someone, it can change you and I want to make sure you're okay."

"Of course I'm okay! Can't you see how perfectly okay I am!"

"Katara listen. You have to face what happened, you won't be able to move past it until you admit that it happened."

She locks eyes with him. "I admit that it happened. I admit that Chang sliced me open the same way you'd skin an animal and I admit that I'm still scared but by the Goddess it's not Zuko! You people keep asking Zuko this Zuko that, Zuko's the one that saved me from Chang, Zuko's the one that helped me learn water bending, Zuko's the one who stayed up talking with me until we were both tired and drunk enough to sleep without nightmares. He captured me yes, but I learned so much on that ship and they keep implying that he fucked me but he didn't lay a damn finger on me! Chang is the one who did it all! Chang is the one I hate, not Zuko!" She's out of the water now and her lower lip is trembling. "He hurt me." Tears threaten. "Oh Goddess did he hurt me. He took me down to the hold and strung me up and cut my clothes off and started," The sobs begin, "He cut me open and it hurt so badly Bato! Every inch of me was on fire and just when I thought it would stop he'd start going again. I was bleeding everywhere and -" The crying increases and he hugs her close, "he was going to rape me." she chokes, "He destroyed everything else he took away my peace of mind and he was about to take my virginity too!"

"It's okay," he mutters and rubs her back. "It's okay." Quite honestly he's close to shaking with rage.

"Zuko found me and I remember the smell of burning fat. It sizzled and I remember the heat. I can't remember any detail though. I can only remember vague things like Chang cutting me and his hands on me and the way the fire smelled. I can't remember things though. I don't know all of what happened. I don't know if he raped me. I don't know if I hurt him I don't know I don't know!" She's screaming as she cries, her pain guttural. "I don't know Bato. I should have fought back harder. I shouldn't have bitten him when I was trying to escape the pirates. It's all my fault. If I'd just let them tie me to the tree it never would have happened."

"No!" Bato grabs her shoulders firmly. "It's not your fault, no matter what you think it's not your fault. He tied you to that tree and you defended yourself. You couldn't have known that this Chang fellow was crazy."

"But I should have!"

"No, he should have behaved better. He is the one at fault, not you." Katara cries and shakes her head. "It's not your fault." Bato holds the shaking sobbing girl and rocks her the same way he did when she was a baby, telling her it's not her fault and singing little lullabies in his soothing voice that sounds like the ocean waves back home. He noticed earlier that the cuts the man would have made aren't visible. Aang said her arm felt funny but now she doesn't move like they hurt at all. He says nothing about it.

Eventually the crying stops. "Bato?"

"Yes?"

"Is the Fire Nation really the bad guy?"

He furrows his brow, "What do you mean?"

"Chang was evil but the other men, the other Fire Nation men, they were kind to me. Uncle made me tea and helped me with my bending and showed me a technique that's improved my water bending amazingly. Zuko is trying to get Aang because his father burnt his face for trying to protect soldiers and said Aang is the only way he can return home. Jee and Hyeng and a bunch of others have families back home who seem like good people and I mean Asoko reads cheesy romance scrolls when no one is looking and Lian makes sweets specially for me. How can they be the enemy? They're good people! They're kind people."

Bato dies a little inside. "Katara, I don't know many Fire Nation soldiers that haven't been busy trying to kill me but I realized a long time ago that they're the same as you and me. They have lives they want to go back to and families use like we do. The difference is the Fire Lord and the people in charge have told them since they were little that we are evil and that they are better than us. Some of them believe it but most probably don't. The people in charge have decided there will be a war though and so a lot of men think they're protecting their families and their homes or being patriotic by joining the military. Some of them don't have a choice. The people themselves aren't our enemy Katara, the ones in charge are."

"So the Fire Lord?" Bato nods. "If we got rid of the Fire Lord this war would stop?"

"No it wouldn't. There's no one to replace him with that's a good trustworthy person, there's no one high enough up that doesn't want the war. The politicians will keep pushing the war until they've won or everyone is dead regardless of whether the Fire Lord is alive or not."

"If we could replace him with a good person do you think the fighting would stop?"

"It might but that person would need a lot of support from the populace and from at least some of the politicians."

"Okay." For a moment she smiles, wondering if she ever sees Zuko again if they would be able to stop the war. No, Zuko believes that he's doing the right thing. Like he said, he'll never stop chasing the Avatar.

Once the moon is high in the sky and Katara's eyes begin to droop Bato escorts her back to the abbey. Aang and Sokka are already there asleep. Neither Bato nor Katara know that they hid in the forest and heard about what happened to her on that ship.

In the middle of the night Bato wakes up to whimpering. Sokka wakes up to an icy room. Aang wakes up to Bato yelling as a water whip slices his face. Katara wakes up to three pairs of wide eyes and one bleeding cheek. "Here, let me heal that." There's no water around but there's stew and two bottles of spiced rum. She uses the stew to heal his face. Sokka's too tired to quite register what happened. Aang think's it's cool but is a little off an goes back to sleep quickly. Bato is in shock. It's a simple clean fix and she grabs a bottle of spiced rum to help her sleep.

The next morning begins around nine. Aang's already up and awake but that's normal for him. The Water Tribe people just barely begin the move around nine. Bato is up first. He's been waking with the sun for the past two years but the abbey has him relaxing. Katara is up next, sleeping in longer than was usual with Aang but having gotten used to sleeping in a little later on the ship. Sokka wakes up last because well, he's Sokka and prefers to stay in bed as long as possible.

Bato touches his face then looks at Katara. "About last night -"

"It's something I learned aboard the ship. How do you think all of my cuts are gone?" She walks off to look for Aang and breakfast.

Aang's stuffing something into his sleeve as she approaches. "Hey, have you seen anything to eat around here?"

He jumps. "Uh no, sorry. I had some rolls earlier but I think they're all gone now."

"Oh, okay." She wanders off and Aang stands there guiltily feeling the lump in his sleeve. Katara grabs her bag of jerky, it looks like this is breakfast along with stewed sea prunes. It's guaranteed to be an interesting mix.

Sokka waits until she's eaten and left before turning to Bato. "Will she be okay?"

Bato shrugs helplessly. "Only time will tell."

"She scares me a little. Even after Mom died she wasn't like this. She's different."

"Sokka, she's been through a lot and in the time she was gone she's learned a lot about herself and others. Of course she's going to be different. Just remember, she's your sister, she's still the same person."

"But that bending last night," Sokka trails off.

"She was asleep, a lot of warriors will lash out in their sleep. She fixed the damage it's all good."

"She's always talked in her sleep. I meant the healing with the glowy and the woooooo." He mimics what obviously means sporty weird stuff.

Bato smiles. "I've heard that the women benders in the Northern Water Tribe learn to heal. I guess Katara just has a gift for it."

Sokka nods, frowning a little in thought. "I've never heard of it but if it's normal then I suppose it's okay."

"Sokka?"

"Yeah?"

"You're going to the Northern Water Tribe. Don't tell anyone up there that she was captured especially that she stayed in the same room as as Zuko. They have," he coughs, "archaic views and it's very possible they won't talk to you or Aang as long as she's around if they find out."

. . .

Iroh watches over a sleeping Zuko. Whenever he wakes the bandages are changed and they talk for a little while before Zuko drifts back off to sleep, fighting the infection. They're on their way to the Western Air Temple. The Northern one is closer, but Iroh knows about the refugees living there. Besides, they went to the Western Air temple before, it's the easiest to get to out of the four.


	10. Chapter 10

Bato, Sokka, Katara, and Aang stand on the Water Tribe vessel. Bato pats the ship lovingly. "This ship means a lot to me. My father built it for me for my ice-dodging. I've still got the scar from it. Do you have any good stories from yours Sokka?"

Sokka shuffles shamefully. Katara speaks, "He never got to go ice-dodging. Dad left before he got the chance."

"Oh," Bato's smile falls. "I forgot you were so young when we left."

"What's ice-dodging?" Aang questions.

"It's a rite of passage for Southern Water Tribe boys when they turn fourteen. You know what Sokka, you're about to find out what it's like."

"What!" Sokka's jaw droops and his face lights up.

"Yeah I mean it."

"How are we going to go ice-dodging without ice?"

"You will be dodging those." Bato points to the large rocks off the shore. Waves crash against the black pillars dangerously. Sokka's face lights up. Katara's face grows wolfish. Aang's face turns slightly green, hard pointy rocks aren't his thing. "Ice-dodging is a ceremonial test of bravery, wisdom, and trust. In our village it was done by weaving a boat through a field of icebergs. Here you'll be dodging the rocks. Sokka you'll be the one steering and calling the shots. Katara if you're up to it you'll secure the mainsail, the winds can be brutal so be brave. Aang you control the jib, without your steady hand we'll all go down. Your position is about trust."

"I know that," Aang squeaks. "Why wouldn't I know that? I'm the Avatar I know about trust!" Sokka looks at him for a moment but ignores Aang's outburst.

Bato sits down at the bow, crossing his legs and folding his arms over his chest. "For this to be done right I cannot help. You pass or fail on your own." Bato falls silent and Sokka immediately begins barking orders. His hands are on the tiller, steering the boat towards the sharp outcropping of rocks. Aang holds the ropes of the smaller sail and Katara the ropes of the larger one.

"Aang, ease up on the jib! Katara, steady!" The rocks are rushing closer. "Aang, less sail! Katara, give him room!" Sokka heaves on the tiller. They pass the first chunk of rocks, the ocean water spraying in their faces. The ship weaves with Sokka's guidance as he sweats buckets. "Aang! Helm to lee, helm to lee!"

As a flyer not a sailor Aang has no idea what Sokka means and lets him know. Aang hopes for the best when Sokka grunts instead of replying, his back pressed agains the tiller trying to turn the boat quick enough. Katara strains against the rope in her hands trying to keep the sail steady and not accelerate them. Aang follows her lead. They swerve around a large rock just in time! The hide of the boat passes just inches from the sharp surface. "Great job!"

"Oh no," Katara mutters. The swerve brought them into a tighter space with rocks all around, their edges like knives and no room to sail between them. "There's no way through!"

At that Bato hurriedly stands. Sokka shouts, "We can make it!"

"Sokka, you've already proven yourself! Maybe we should-" Bato doesn't get to finish.

"Aang, I'm gonna need air in that sail! Katara, give me as much water as you can between us and those rocks okay! Now!" Aang begins to create gusts of wind that slam into the sails. Katara pulls the water up under the boat, her arms waving rhythmically. They can do this! Sokka struggles to keep the craft straight. The waves swell and along with them the boat. Higher, higher, higher, Aang's air bending raises it even more. The rocks are getting closer. They're almost on them! The boat passes over them and the waves sink back down into the rest of the sea. The wind stops blowing. Sokka is gasping, leaning on the edge for support. "You guys did a great job!" They all beam back at him, even Bato, especially Bato. He never expected the boy to do something like that, and he is so proud of the kids he helped raise.

Back on shore they have a small ceremony. It's not much but Bato has special blue paint specifically for it. As he dips his fingers into it Katara notices for the first time the burns on his hand. She'd noticed the bandages but it hadn't quite clicked and now in the daylight she sees the red welts. Maybe they're new enough she can help to heal them. She'll talk to him about it later, now she focuses on his words. "The spirits of water bear witness to these marks. For Sokka the mark of the wise, the same one your father received." Bato marks Sokka's forehead with a blue curved line - almost a moon, and a dot underneath it. "For Katara, the mark of the brave. Your courage inspires us. You have proven your bravery in countless ways over the past month but today you proved for the ocean and moon spirits to see. Stay strong." She smiles as he draws a crescent moon on her forehead. "For Aang, the mark of the trusted. From today forward you are an honorary member of the Southern Water Tribe."

Bato reaches forward but Aang's eyes are wide and he steps back quickly. "No, I can't."

"Sure you can!" Sokka claps him on the back.

"No, you can't trust me."

"Aang, what are you talking about?" Katara's voice has a hint of an edge.

Out of his sleeve the air bender pulls a crumpled sheet of paper. "You- you have to understand I was afraid you'd leave. I just got you back Katara. It's a message for Bato." Katara swipes it. "I was afraid!"

"This is a map to our father." She whispers, "You had it this whole time." Her voice rises and so does the water behind her. "How could you! After everything we've done for you, everything I've done for you how could you! I was captured because of you and I didn't tell them a damn thing! I even helped Zuko get ready to get you back from Zhao and you don't fucking tell us you have this! You're out of that damn ice block because of us and you don't tell us when something comes telling us where our father is!" She screeches. "Go to the North Pole by your own damn self!"

"Katara-"

"I don't want to hear it Aang." She turns and storms off.

"Sokka -"

"No Aang, that was below the belt. I'm with her on this." Sokka leaves and Bato throws a glance at the child before walking off leaving the Avatar alone with the surf.

. . .

"The fever around your cuts is going down and they seem to be healing well." Iroh is changing the bandages again. The peeling stings but Zuko ignores it and just wants to get back to life as usual. He's been practicing strategy and studying a lot lately since moving is still a little painful but his uncle isn't quite as much fun to spar with over a map as Katara is. He Katara were here this wouldn't be a problem. He'd be healed and he'd have someone to talk to. His room is so empty now without her to keep him company. He hates to admit it but he misses the water bender. He is getting on good terms with members of his crew though. "How close to the Western Air Temple are we?"

"Still another two days and then half a day on foot." Iroh rubs the salve in. "Have you thought about who will come with you yet?"

"We're going in with ten other men: Jee, Hyeng, Korsono, Yoro, and Sho are on the list. We'll fan out and look. Maybe we'll find something. Hopefully." Zuko murmurs the last word to himself. His uncle didn't give him a straight answer when he asked about the Air Nomad Army but he has a feeling he won't like what he finds. If he's been lied to about something as simple as that what else has the Fire Nation taught him that isn't true.

. . .

Katara is throwing things off of Appa. Her knapsack is thrown. Sokka's sleeping bag is thrown. Her heavy robe is thrown. Sokka's bag of Goddess only knows what is thrown. Their cooking supplies are thrown. She grabs her knife, about to toss it from Appa's saddle also. Never give up without a fight. Oh she fought all right. She fought with her tribe to come with him. She fought with her brother about trusting him. She fought with Zuko about him and the war. Now to add to the list she's fought him about him being a self-serving, annoying, bratty, childish prick! She tucks the knife into her belt, grumbling as she climbs down from Appa. Fuck him and his stupid fucking arrow.

Sokka walks up behind her and nudges the pile on the ground. "I can't believe he'd do something like that! We're better off without him."

Katara nods her agreement but wonders how exactly she'll become a water bending master without going to the Northern Water Tribe. She nibbles her lip. She can go after they meet up with Dad. "It looks like it's about a five day walk if we head out now."

Bato comes up slowly, "Kids, I know he did something wrong, but-"

"I don't want to hear it," Katara counters. Sokka nods.

"I know, but I'm going to say it anyway. The Avatar's a little kid and you guys are the only family he has left."

Katara ignores him and Sokka looks a little guilty but shoulders his pack. They set out, Bato giving a respectful bow and his thanks to the nuns. The path they need to take winds inland before branching off towards the sea again. No one speaks but Katara huffs and clenches her fists in frustration every now and then. Sokka's guilt is slowing him down. He's starting to feel worse about leaving the kid but there's no way in hell he's going anywhere away from his sister, not so soon after he got her back. Off in the forest somewhere a wolf howls. It's a long and mournful cry. Katara stops for a moment to listen. "That wolf sounds sad."

"It's probably wounded."

Bato shakes his head. "No, it's been separated from the pack. I understand that pain. It's how I felt when the Water Tribe warriors had to leave me behind. They were my family and being away from them was even more painful than my wounds."

Katara knows what he's trying to say but she hears a different meaning. He hurts because he was away from his family, when she was separated from hers what did she do? She made friends, she learned bending, she thought of them yes, but she was so busy with other things that it hadn't bother her except late at night. Is there something wrong with her for that? She feels guilty about how easy it was to slip into a life with the fire benders.

Sokka's talking to her. "Katara?"

"Huh?" She didn't hear a word he said.

"I said we need to go back for Aang. Bato's right, he's our family now too. As much as I want to see Dad, going to the North Pole and helping Aang out is more important."

She levels a stare at him. "After what he did you want to help him?"

"He messed up, we all do. It was a mistake and I'm sure he's learned from it. Believe it or not I think Aang needs us."

Katara huffs. "Fine." She wants to see her dad but she does owe Aang. She never would have left the Southern Water Tribe if not for him. She turns around and smiles sadly at Bato. "I never got the chance to ask if you wanted me to try and heal your wounds."

He laughs, "Don't worry. I'm tough, I've handled worse. Now you two get back to your Avatar I'm sure he misses you. I know where to go from here."

"Are you sure?" Sokka hands him the map anyway.

Bato pulls both kids into a hug. "You've grown so much. Your father would be proud of you, of what you've both done. He'll understand why you couldn't come." Sokka pulls away, tears in his eyes. The last time he saw his father was two years ago and who knows how long it'll be before they see him again.

Back at the abbey Aang mopes, slowly putting his belongings back onto Appa. The saddle is so big and so empty without Katara and Sokka. Appa roars. "I know buddy, I know. We're almost ready to leave. There's just a little bit more I want to organize before we head out." Truthfully there's nothing left to do. Everything is packed neatly away and they're ready to go, Aang just doesn't want to admit it. He doesn't want to leave by himself. He keeps telling himself maybe, maybe they'll have a change of heart and come back. What he did was pretty awful though so he doubts it.

All doubts are washed away as a lanky Water Tribe boy walks up and leans casually on Appa. Katara stands behind him, still scowling a little. "Weren't thinking of leaving without us were you?"

Aang's face nearly splits in half with a smile. "You guys came back!"

"Of course we did!"

"But what I did, that was terrible of me."

Katara replies, "Yeah, it really was but Sokka realized you're our family too. Right now you need us more."

"Thanks Katara." Aang blushes a little out of happiness and some other emotion he can't quite name.

"Now," Sokka rubs his hands together, "Northern Water Tribe here we come!"

. . .

**Short chapter I know and I'm sorry. I just didn't want to make Chapter 9 too terribly long in comparison to my usual length. Thank you everyone who is reading and enjoying this story! I'd love to hear your thoughts!**


	11. Chapter 11

Zuko's arms and legs are sore. The half day march on it's own would have been fine, the climbing down the rope to the Western Air Temple on it's own would have been fine. Both together calls for a tired body though. Add to that a sore and bruised back and he's having a _fantastic_ day. Now Prince Zuko stands in the middle of the courtyard looking at the abandoned buildings around him. They're built into the underside of cliff and all built upside down with what would normally be the roofs pointing towards the river far below. Looking over the edge gives him a wave of nausea. There's no doubt about it that this place was once home to air benders. No one else would think that building something like this is a good idea!

He glances at the men behind him, there's something different about this trip and they can tell even if they don't know what yet. Somehow Iroh has managed to handle to walk and even the rope climbing with grace and is smiling through his deep breathes. How the old man climbed down is a mystery. Zuko paces for a moment, still unsure that he really wants to do this. He was here two years ago when first searching for the Avatar but he wasn't paying attention to anything that didn't move back then. There could be something here and that would mean the Fire Nation was right all along and he can go along doing what he's doing. If there's nothing here, well then he's been lied to by the people he calls his own, more specifically by the man he calls his father. He takes a deep breath, stopping at the fountain that still runs after all these years. "Men, today we're not searching for the Avatar." Most of the eyebrows in the group raise. It's obvious that they aren't looking for the little boy but for Zuko to come out an say it is surprising. "Today we're looking for the truth. Many of you were taught I'm sure that the Air Nomad Army attacked the Fire Nation first, starting the War of Enlightenment." Jee and Hyeng, the oldest there look confused, shaking their heads a little. Zuko notices. "We're here to find any traces of military that the Air Nomads left behind. Spread out and bring anything that isn't Fire Nation back here." The soldiers begin to fan out, some pairing up with friends and others striking off alone. Zuko motions the two older soldiers over.

"Ah, Lieutentant Jee and Chief Petty Officer Hyeng, I'm so glad you were able to join us today," Iroh happily greets them as though they hadn't just spoken ten minutes ago.

"I saw both of you shaking your heads a moment ago. Why?" Zuko is abrupt as usual.

Neither of them really wants to answer but Jee ends up responding. "We were taught that the Air Nomads were forming an army and planning an attack so the Fire Nation struck first."

"What!" Jee nods and Zuko slumps, sitting heavily on the fountain. "Uncle what were you taught?" Iroh is the oldest there and Zuko is afraid of what he'll say.

Iroh exhales slowly. They're here, he might as well tell the truth. "My education as a child was supplemented by Azulon on matters like this. I was raised to believe that every other nation was inferior but as I was heir to the throne I got information that not even your father Ozai was given." He pauses, knowing that his nephew's view of the world is about to change. "The Air Nomads had no army and weren't planning anything. They weren't even expecting an attack but once Avatar Roku died the attack was almost immediate." Jee and Hyeng stare wide-eyed. Zuko's head falls into his hands before he yells, fire streaming out of his open mouth and erupting from his fists. "Prince Zuko! Do not take my word for it." The fire falters with these words and begins to fade. "Don't learn from me the same way you learned in school. Go out and look for yourself. To find the answers you need to search."

"I don't want to search if there's nothing there anyway."

Iroh stares at the depressed, confused boy until he throws his hands up, "Fine, okay! I'll go look in the stupid ruins!" Iroh smiles until Zuko turns away, then the smile drops.

"So you're saying we've been lied to our entire lives?" Hyeng questions, clearly annoyed. Iroh nods sadly.

"What else have we been lied to about?"

"Oh my dear Hyeng, you don't want to ask that question."

Zuko picks his way over rubble. He's already come across the skeletons of three air benders - jewelry still moderately intact - and one fire bender - the armor giving that away - and he's barely inside the temple. He wanders farther down the hallway looking at the old scorch marks that show the battle. Nature has reclaimed a decent chunk of the temple, thankfully obscuring several of the skeletons. There's nothing to make him think that the Air Nomads had anything warlike at all, there are no swords on the hips, no sharpened staffs to be spears, nothing. His heart sinks, there's nothing here. He walks along more corridors, his shoes clicking on the stone floor, echoing around the temple that became a tomb. How could he have been lied to so completely? How could he have believed that! The prince finds a large room that leads out to yet another courtyard. In the corner a skeleton sits. The pendant hanging from vertebrae is a carving of the air elemental symbol. Orange robes hang loosely, the breeze blowing right through the many moth holes. Around the skeleton are a dozen others all with Fire Nation armor. Finally, something that shows the Air Nomads were vicious! No, upon closer inspection he sees five arrows propping the skeleton up from where the bender's lungs used to be. Maybe the air bender deserved it? Maybe the air bender attacked first?

He quickly leaves the room.

Zuko walks out onto the courtyard, catching his breath. This can't' be real. There has to be something deeper down inside the temple, there has to be! He keeps going forward, almost in a daze. Soon he'll be at the bottom of the building and he's found nothing yet. He steps into another room and his breath breakfast rises and before he can stop it it's out on the ground. He looks up then pukes again. After a moment he regains control over his stomach even if it's only barely. His uncle had told him once, a long time ago that this is the women's temple. He'd forgotten it but the skeletons strung and tied in various positions reminds him of that. He can almost hear the screams of the women and little girls. It's a dormitory and a pile of Air Nomad skeletons lies in the corner haphazardly. Two skeletons are clutching each other, arrows through their skulls. The rest of the skeletons are tied to beds regardless of the size of the skeleton. His blood is rising. How could they do something like this! These were helpless women and children! There are no weapons in here! No one deserves to die like this, huddling in fear or asleep or left after being violated, unable to do anything! The fire inside of him, the intense anger, boils over and spews out of him with an animalistic roar. He only sees red.

Eventually General Iroh finds him kneeling in the middle of an empty room, ashes in the corners and fresh scorch marks on the walls.

Zuko is sobbing.

. . .

Katara stares up at the sky, wishing they were already at the North Pole or at least doing something. All the free time is leaving her opportunities to think and she doesn't want to do that. She traces where the cuts on her arms were absentmindedly and forces her thoughts away from self-pity and towards her friends on the ship. Zuko would be studying or sparring right now, probably sparring. Iroh - Uncle would be sipping tea and gossiping. Jee, Hyeng, and Yoro would be doing who knows what, they never really told her what they did on the ship. Asoko, Kuron, and Akina got transferred over to Zhao's ships. Lian would most likely be making dinner and adding copious amounts of spice to whatever it is. She presses the back of her head further into the padded robe that serves as her pillow.

Sokka despises that robe and has considered 'accidentally' dropping it off the side of Appa's saddle, into the fire, any number of things, over the past few days. His sister still has the red dress they found her in too but he has no idea why. He's been watching her as they fly towards the Northern Water Tribe. She practices her bending every night until she's asleep standing. She whimpers and sometimes screams in her sleep. No one has tried to wake her since the incident with Bato, instead opting to cover their ears until the screaming stops and the whimpering begins again. All of that bothers him but he can deal with it. The one thing he can't stand is when she calls out for Zuko then falls back to deep sleep with a sad look on her face. Sokka will still skin that stupid jerk the first chance he gets. She can say whatever she wants about him, but Sokka still hates the guy and believes firmly that it's all his fault.

"Hey guys, I see a village down there, let's get some supplies there," Aang calls from his perch at Appa's head.

Katara nods and Sokka nods violently. "We need food! Other than Katara's not-jerky we're practically out!" Sokka may hate the Fire Nation but he loves jerky so he had tried it earlier. He spat it out and began ranting about how it was a disgrace to all jerky, the spices were too strong and how it was overcooked. Katara didn't find anything wrong with it at all, she suspects his dislike of it has nothing to do with the actual meat.

Appa begins to slow down, loosing altitude. They land in a clearing just large enough for the flying bison and disembark. "Ok Appa, stay here and don't worry. We'll be back soon." Momo chatters angrily. "Yes, you have to stay too."

They traipse off as Sokka empties the last of a food bag into his mouth. "Okay, okay now we've gone from practically out to completely out."

"Really Sokka?" Katara berates.

"What, I'm hungry," he defends. She rolls her eyes. A quick five minute walk brings them to the village on the edge of the forest. "Shit," Sokka mutters. Fire Nation banners hang proudly on display from every window. Red rice litters the street and a large gold banner reads out 'The Fire Days Festival'. "We're leaving."

"Sokka you just ate all of our food! We have to buy more supplies. Besides, the festival might actually be fun."

He grumbles, "We're not staying long and we have to disguise ourselves. An no, the festival wouldn't be 'fun'" he makes air quotes around the word.

"Yeah actually it might," Katara counters. "You're always up for a challenge, you might like fire flakes and I heard about performers who can -"

"Katara, we shouldn't stay longer than necessary because we don't want someone to see Aang."

"Yeah, plus I don't really want to stay all that much," Aang adds.

"Oh," her shoulders drop and she doesn't say anything as Sokka swipes a mask from an unsuspecting vendor and puts it on Aang. It takes all of half an hour to get supplies and then Sokka is leading them out of the village and back to Appa. Fireworks light up the sky as they make camp.

. . .

Zuko stares numbly into the fire, unsure of what to do with his newfound knowledge. All of the other soldiers sit around in similar states of shock, anger, and annoyance. Every now and then one will cry out in frustration and the fire will spike. Jee and Hyeng told everyone what Iroh had said and the complete lack of air bender military equipment back that up. They've all been lied to. The country they swore to protect, the country they love so much has lied to them.

Eventually Sho, a man in his mid to late twenties speaks up, looking from the prince to the old general. "So what now?"

Zuko jolts back to reality, "What do you mean?"

"I mean we've been lied to our entire lives and you're our prince. What are we supposed to do."

Iroh looks to see how Zuko will handle this. He just interlaces his fingers and thinks for another moment. Right then Iroh doesn't see a boy but perhaps the man he'll grow into even though Zuko's nerves are frayed and he's close to breaking down. "We need to go back to the Capitol City and confront them. The only way our ship can get into Fire Nation water without getting fired on is with the Avatar so the plan is the same as it's always been. We capture the Avatar and go home." He looks into the dancing flames, hoping he's doing the right thing. "Then we start telling everyone the truth."

The men slowly begin to nod, mulling the plan over in their minds. "They won't listen," one soldier comments. "I had to actually see this for myself or else I wouldn't have believed."

"Well, if I come back an honored prince they'll believe me. Hopefully." The doubt is a very real possibility but what can they do? Katara's voice whispers through his mind telling him again to try and talk to his men. "Do any of you have ideas?" he asks, forcing the question out before his pride swallows it.

"Nope."

"No."

"Sorry but I've got nothing." No one has a better plan and so they'll go with his.

"We can't ignore this. The Fire Nation attacked this temple unprovoked and then lied about it to it's own people! Everything we've been taught, everything we know could be a lie. This war has to end and it has to end now," Zuko's voice is thick with emotion and he's not sure when he stood up. "This isn't right. What they did is dishonorable and we have to fix it."

Yoro looks at the man on the other side of the fire. Honor, he can fight for that. He can fight for real honor, to stop what his ancestors started so long ago. "Everyone is tired of the war and our prince is showing us a way out. If he talks like that then the people will follow." There are nods of agreement and they fall into a thoughtful silence.

One by one -mostly - his men wander off to various parts of the courtyard to sleep. Zuko walks out to the edge, careful not to get too close, and stares out at the empty sky. The moon shines brightly among the glittering stars. He's been lied to his whole life. He feels hollow right now, just empty. How much of his life has been a lie? His honor suddenly doesn't seem as important to him, his father is dishonorable, his whole country is dishonorable. There was nothing here except proof of the Fire Nation's aggression. The only weapons were Fire Nation. The only armor was Fire Nation. The scene in the lower room floats in front of his eyes. How could his own people behave like that?

Iroh watches Zuko and remembers his own long experience of finding out the truth. He knew the Fire Nation had started the war but he had believed it was justified. Wasn't the Fire Nation the superior nation? His views on that had changed when he led a raid on a small Earth Kingdom village. He remembers the fear in their eyes and the panic. He'd helped kill dozens of the men and had moved onto burning the homes. Several women had lunged out of doors with knives but they only nicked his armor. Five earth bender women were quickly disposed of. Iroh had just begun to set another house on fire when a child came screaming out of it. The boy's mother followed shortly behind and when she saw the Fire Nation soldiers she plunged a dagger deep into her little boy's back. 'You won't get him, you can't hurt him now,' she had spat at Iroh before turning the blade on herself. That was when he had truly began to realize that they weren't seen as liberators but as monsters. His nephew is starting to realize the same thing. It's a long process and this is only the first step, but often it's the worst one to take.

"Are you alright nephew?"

Zuko groans, "Did I do the right thing, Uncle?"

He pats him on the shoulder. "We never know the right thing until the choice has long since passed us by."

"A lot of people are depending on me. I can't let them down."

"And you won't, I believe you're doing the right thing."

"I hope so," the prince puts his head in his hands and sighs. He doesn't want to be the one in charge he doesn't like the way the men looked at him earlier for guidance. He doesn't want to know that his father lied to him. He just wants to go back to the life he used to have but he can't ignore the pain of so many people. He can't ignore that the war is unjust.

. . .

Sokka didn't want to stop. Now he's stuck listening to some old coot go on and on with a silly 'air bender' story while Katara picks absently mindedly at her pants and Aang listens in rapture. The storyteller ends with a flourish, "So travelers, the next time you think you hear a strange large bird talking, take a closer look, it might not be a giant parrot but a flying man! A member of a secret group of air walkers who laugh gravity and laugh at those bound to the earth by it!"

Katara's eye widen slightly, "Was that realistic? Was that what it was really like back then?"

"Yeah! I laugh at gravity all the time," He starts giggling. "Ha! Gravity!"

The hat that the storyteller had been wearing is shoved under their noses. Sokka reaches into his pockets, already knowing that they're empty. Lint comes out but no coins. "Sorry dude."

The man sneers angrily, "Cheapskates, the lot o' you!" He walks away and begins hounding the other audience members for gold.

Aang zooms up to the old man, "Thanks for the story!"

"Try telling it to the cap kid." A copper piece falls to the ground and Momo rushes to pick it up. "Much obliged little bat thing."

Momo scampers back to Aang. "Thanks for the air bender stories, it means a lot to hear them. It must have been a hundred years ago since your great grandpa met them."

"Huh? What are you prattling about eh? Great grand-pappy saw them just last week!" A crazed old man waves at the story teller. Katara and Sokka raise their eyebrows and Aang just reels back slightly.

. . .

Zuko stands at the railing of the ship. "That Avatar is going to the North Pole, that's where we'll meet him."

Jee stands on one side, Iroh on the other. "Have you considered sending a letter to the Avatar, Prince? If he understands that you want to end the war then -"

"No, I've been trying to capture him fore the past few months, he won't listen."

"Perhaps Miss Katara will listen then," Jee replies.

"Somehow I doubt that she will."

"Explain that you only need him there until you get to the capitol and then you'll help him escape once you've been formally reinstated. I know it's a long shot, but it's worth a try."

. . .

"Okay so we're almost to the Northern Air Temple! They held the championships for sky bison polo here. I only got to see it once but it was amazing! Do you think we'll find actual air nomads there?"

Sokka looks up from picking his nails. "Do you want an honest answer or do you want me to be like -" He almost says like Katara but she hasn't been quite as optimistic as she used to be lately. "Like you, Aang?"

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"I'm just saying you're an optimist, I'm a realist and it's realistic that -" Katara kicks him sharply, sending him a withering glare.

Aang stops paying attention instead focusing on the sight in front of him. "Look guys, look!" He starts pointing wildly.

The Water Tribe siblings peer over Appa's saddle. A temple stands against the horizon, perched on a tall snowy mountain. Towers reach to the sky but harsh black smoke rises from them. Gliders float around the spires, hovering lazily. Sokka's jaw drops and Katara grins widely. "We found more air benders! I can't believe it, we found them!"

"No," Aang's smile has slipped off his face. "Those aren't air benders."

"What do you mean? They're flying!"

"Gliding, not flying, there's a difference. You can tell by the way they move. They're not air bending, they have no spirit," Aang pouts before leaping off of Appa leaving Katara grasping for the reins.

Appa whines as Aang and Momo fly away from them. Katara jerks his head back towards the temple. "Sorry Appa but I want to land." It takes a few minutes for her to land the giant flying bison but eventually he settles onto one of the many platforms on the temple.

Aang is racing around in the sky, it looks like playing tag with a kid in a glider. "Go Teo! Show the bald kid how it's done!" A child shouts. The two chase each other through the clouds, neck in neck. Aang breaks off and runs down the side of the temple but the kid in the glider counters with releasing a burst of smoke that propels him into loops and twirls in mid-air. Teo lands with a screech on the platform with the crowd of children and Katara, Sokka, and Appa. Aang lands behind him, a sour look on his face.

Teo's glider is something to behind. The boy is wheelchair bound but still manages to sore through the sky with his glider. "Wow! That glider chair is amazing," Sokka crows.

The boy laughs, "You should see the other stuff my dad designs. But you, you're a real airbender!" He turns to Aang with a look of awe. "You must be the Avatar! I've heard stories about you!"

Aang laughs and the sour look turns into a smile. "Oh cool."

"Here, you guys want to meet my dad?"

"Sure!" the group follows the paraplegic boy into the temple. Aang stops every now and then and rests his hand on something, an old relic of his past or stares just a little too long at a mosaic. Katara finally puts an arm around his shoulder, comforting him. They walk into the main room and Aang sags. Everything is covered in a thick layer of grime and soot. Black smoke belches into the air from pipes and statues that were once gorgeous works of art are now obscured by dirt.

"This is unbelievable," Aang mutters. His heart is in his feet.

"Yeah, it's pretty great isn't it?" Teo's beaming.

Aang replies flatly, "No, just unbelievable." Teo's smile falters and he wheels off to explain everything to Sokka. The entire place runs off of hot air and Sokka is overjoyed at all of the technology around him. Aang isn't. He walks over to the wall where an intricate painting once was. Now the colors are dull and covered and many of the faces of the monks are destroyed by pipes bursting through the stones. "This was supposed to be a history of my people. Now look at it." Katara reaches out but he shrugs her off and walks over to what once was a fountain. It depicts an ancient sky bison holding an air orb but the water has long since stopped running and the pool is now filled with a green ooze. Smoke coughs out of the statues mouth and Aang jumps, tears coming to his eyes. "It wasn't supposed to look like this." He can feel the anger in him started to bubble.

"Come on Aang," Katara leads him away. "I'm sure that there are parts of the temple that have remained the same."

They walk along quietly, each lost in their own thoughts. Aang fumes at the changes to the temple. Katara is torn between disgust at how the temple is treated and wonder and how inventive these people are. She tries a few times to engage him in conversation but each one fails. The further away from the main hall they go the cleaner it gets. Walls turn from grime covered to just dirty and finally to simply dusty. Aang breathes a sigh of relief when they reach the old hardly touched halls. The pair walks into a courtyard and Aang walks over to pay his respects to a statue, "That's Monk Gyarat if I remember correctly. He -"

"Lookout!" A voice calls before a huge wrecking ball smashes through the wall and into the work of art, obliterating it. Katara and Aang jump back, avoiding the falling debris. A man walks up, a monocle in one eye and half of his hair singled. "What the heck! Don't you kids know to stay away from construction sites? We have to make room for the bathhouse."

Aang's eyebrows shoot up and he jumps into an air bending stance, the air blowing harder in the room. "Do you have any idea what you just did! You just destroyed something sacred, something that has been around for centuries and is part of my culture for some stupid bathhouse!"

The man shrugs and waves his hand in front of his nose. "Well, the people here are starting to stink."

"No, this whole place stinks!" With an angry slice Aang blows the wrecking ball and all of it's paraphernalia off the edge of the temple.

It takes a few hours for Aang to calm down but eventually he and the man - the mechanist - come to terms. He's still angry but at least now he's being polite. Sokka wanders off into the bowels of the temple with the mechanic as Aang pouts and Katara goes to look through the large library a kid told her about, looking for more bending scrolls. Teo rolls up to the sulking, angry avatar and holds out his hand. "Hey, I want to show you something Aang." He leads the other boy down the hallway and they look at the mosaics and old paintings on the walls. Along the way the crippled boy scoops something up.

"I just can't get over it. There's nothing here that's the same."

"Aang," Teo hands him a little black and white striped hermit crab that scuttles around. "The temple might be different, but the creatures that live here now are probably direct descendants of the ones that lived here a hundred, two hundred, or even three hundred years ago."

"I suppose you're right."

"Besides, I want to show you something that hasn't changed at all." Teo leads Aang down darker corridors and deeper into the building finally stopping before a massive door. Wood swirls over the frame and two long horns extend to about arm level.

Aang gasps, "It's just like the one at the Southern Air Temple!"

"Yeah, it's completely untouched, just the way the monks left it. I've always wondered what it's like in there."

"I'm sorry," Aang steps back. "Thank you for showing this to me, it means a lot, but I won't open it. I want this part of the temple to stay the same."

Teo smiles in understanding. "It's fine, I just wanted you to know that it's here."

"Thank you," the Avatar mumbles.

. . .

Zuko dreams of dragons. They twist and writhe around him, one red and one blue, whispering promises and schemes into his ears. The blue one's voice is sweet and dripping honeyed words the same way his little sister used to do. "Oh Fire Lord Zuko, how nice it is to see you sitting on your throne. You really do deserve to be here."

"Yes," he replies, "I know."

"Would you like to hear the news about the war? We're conquering Ba Sing Se. After all, you brought the Avatar here and now he can't leave to help the Earth Kingdom."

The red dragon with a voice so like his uncle's cuts in, knocking the blue one aside. "Zuko, don't listen to her."

"You've got your honor back, your glory. Your father loves you for bring the Avatar to him. Now you can rule together. You sit on the throne, all the power in the world is in your hands. Just bring me the Avatar."

"No Zuko! You have to end the war. You saw what they did, you saw how your father lied to you."

"I'm sure he had a reason," Zuko mutters, entranced by the crown the blue dragon holds.

"Will you let people continue to die for an unjust cause?"

"Let people die?" Chang flashes before his eyes.

"Oh Zuzu, don't listen to that red dragon, he's a fool. This isn't an unjust cause, the Fire Nation deserves the world. You deserve the world."

"If you don't stop the war now when you know the truth, the new victims and dead of the war will be on your head. Do you want to live with yourself knowing that?" The red dragon is right. Chang's bones snap under his foot, his toes kicking deeper and deeper into tissue. "Stop the war. Return honor to your people."

. . .

Katara is terrified, but ultimately she's in control and so she pushes herself to do it, a way to make up for the times she's been scared and unable to do anything. Facing this fear will make the others easier she thinks. "Are you ready?" Aang asks, standing right beside her.

"Not really, but let's go!" The water bender jumps off the building, clinging for dear life to her green glider. Screams rip from her throat as the wind engulfs her whipping her braid back and filling up the wings of the glider. This can't be real! The clouds are around her and she can hear Aang and Teo talking but can't make out the words, adrenaline pumping loudly through her ears. She has got to be crazy for doing this. A gust of wind pushes her upwards and for a second she's afraid she'll collide with the building. Shifting her weight to the left changes the gliders course and soon she's flying through the air like a pro, laughing the whole way. Currents toss her around but she enjoys the freedom, from up here she can see everything, she can feel everything. There's water in the clouds around her, there's heat in certain pockets of air. It's over way too fast as the glider slowly looses altitude and Katara has to land. She steers for a courtyard. How does this thing slow down? They didn't tell her how to land, oh no! The ground is rushing up at her and - a pillow of air catches her fall. Aang glides as she detaches herself from the contraption. Her fingers and practically frozen by adrenaline to the handrail. Teo flies in a moment later.

"That was a great job Katara!"

"Thanks. Teo was right about the air, all I had to do was trust it. It's terrifying but really neat."

Aang grins. "You know, even though you're not an air bender Teo, you have the spirit of one. If you really want to see what's in that room, why don't we go look now?"

"Really!"

"Sure!" The boys fill Katara in on the door and their earlier chat while they walk down to it..

"This is awesome!" Teo's glowing with anticipation. "I've wondered about that room my whole life!" Aang takes up an air bending stance and stands in between the two horns that lead up to the locks. One concentrated blast from each hand into the horns starts the lock clicking. Pieces fall into place. The large swirls begin to rotate and click as they come to right position. The massive doors swing open and a deep bell begins to toll.

The sight inside is breathtaking and heart-stopping. This is not okay.

"This is a nightmare," Aang feels like he's been punched in the gut.

Teo just sits confused and repulsed.

Katara looks away and panic floods her system, clenching around her lungs and making it hard to breath.

Inside the Air Nomad Temple's Sanctuary, the holiest place, atrocities of the Hundred Year War sit. Death traps and iron maidens sit beside the same kind of frame Katara had been held on. Gears and levers seem to control machines that pump smoke and steam into pipes that power small tanks and wheeled buildings. Everything is painted a blood red with black Fire Nation symbols shining on them. Katara retches. Footsteps pound down the corridor and the mechanic almost runs into them, panic in his eyes at the sight of the open door. "You don't understand, I can explain!"

Aang's blood is boiling again and every ounce of self control goes to stopping the Avatar State. "You're building weapons for the Fire Nation!"

Water wraps around Katara's hands before forming spikes of ice. Sokka runs up behind the mechanic, stopping cold at the sight. Teo wheels around to face his father. "Explain all this! Now Dad!"

The man slouches at his son's face. "Teo please understand! It all happened about a year after we moved here! Fire Nation soldiers found us and they were going to destroy everything, burn it to the ground. I pleaded, I begged for them to spare us. They asked what I had to offer so I gave them the only thing I had, my services. You must understand, I did this for you!"

Teo turns away but Aang points his staff at the mechanic's neck. "When are they coming again? The Fire Nation, when are they coming again?"

"Soon, very soon."

Katara pulls Aang back and Sokka glares at the man he'd began to trust. The man starts to move but sharp ice shards hover in front of his face. "Take us to wherever you meet with them. We want to hear this."

The mechanic slinks back to his office with the group following, Teo lags sadly behind. The door shuts behind them and they're ushered to the corner out of sight before Teo's dad goes back to his desk, putting the final touches on a little figurine of a balloon. A small bell tinkles and he stands, sighing. He pulls a lever and cogs begin to turn quickly, a trap door opening with a hiss of steam. A Fire Nation soldier rises up through it and stands imperiously in the workshop. Katara restrains Sokka as Aang is held back by Teo.

"You know better than to keep me waiting. Give me what you owe us so I can be on my way." The mechanist doesn't say anything, just looks down. "Well? Is there a problem?"

"No," he whispers. "Right this way."

Aang erupts from the corner, Teo had let go as soon as he saw his father about to help the Fire Nation man. "The deal's off!"

The enemy hisses, "The Avatar!"

"Aang please!" The mechanic pleads.

"If I don't get what I came for, I'll burn this place to the ground."

Air whips across the man's face and knocks him backwards onto the trap door. "You're leaving empty handed!"

"Then the destruction of your precious temple will be on your head boy!" With that the soldier pulls the lever and descends into the floor.

Katara finally lets go of Sokka. "Why did you let him go? Now he's going to tell everyone and -"

"If the guy hadn't returned the Fire Nation would have sent an even larger force to come look for him Sokka, you know that. At least this way if we have to defend it the soldiers will be outside the walls instead of in them," Katara reprimands. She hates the idea of hurting the men out there most of whom are just following orders, but she's not about to let her sentimentality hurt her brother, Aang, or the people living here. "So," she looks at Aang, "What are we going to do? How can we keep all of them away?" There has to be a way to do it without killing and if anyone can find a bloodless solution it's the air bender.

"I'll tell you how. We have something they don't, air power! We control the sky, they can't even dream of that. We can win!"

The mechanic sidles up, glancing at Teo for approval. "I want to help."

"Good, we'll need it!"

. . .

Zuko has tossed and turned all night and most of the day, drenched in sweat. Iroh offered him water but tried to drink the whole bucket instead of the cup full. He's burning up. "A crossroads" Uncle's voice fades in and out. "Choices - worried - right and wrong - lied to," the words swim around in his head.

Zuko dreams of a water bender with bright blue eyes and her hand on his scar. That water bender is tied and bleeding. One of his men did that.

Skeletons dance from leather strips bound by their wrists and ankles, clothes tossed aside. His own people did that.

Zuko wakes up puking.

He sees red engulf his face.

Dragons undulate around him.

Zuko dreams of the girl working muscles in his back, asking for scrolls on the energies inside the body. His are messed up terribly. She wants to help.

The Fire Nation took his mother away and the image of her pulling the hood over her long black hair and walking away haunts his sleep. The Fire Nation lies. The Fire Nation lies. His little sister's laughter echoes in his dreams at the news of their mother's disappearance. The Fire Nation lies. Azula lies. Azula always lies. Azula always lies. "You'll never be good enough Zuzu, not even mother wanted to be around you." Azula always lies.

. . .

"They're coming!" A little girl shouts.

"Are we ready?" Teo is nervous.

"As ready as we'll ever be." Katara looks around. "Where's Sokka and the war balloon?"

Aang jumps down from Appa. "We'll have to start without him" Aang's glider opens. Teo pulls his goggles down over his eyes. Katara give Teo a good push and they're off. Katara climbs onto Appa and they soar into the sky, handing smoke, slime, fire, and stink bombs out to the gliders that come nearby. The gliders swoop into formations after Aang and Teo, the two natural fliers. They dive-bomb the soldiers coming up the mountain and dodge streams of fire and arrows shot their way. One glider's wing catches fire and starts to spiral out of control. Another kid grabs the inhabitant and drops her off in the courtyard. Aang jumps off his glider and in front of the infantry, zooming around on an air scooter. Heaps of snow and ice fall onto the troops. The avalanche grows, swallowing people in it's wake as Aang leaps back into the sky. Katara hands out more bombs. "

"We've got them on the run! We need more slime," Aang hollers and Katara complies, handing out more slime than anything else. Giant harpoons shoot into the sky, narrowly missing Appa. They sink into the mountain face as more and more attach, chains hanging off the ends. Metal groans and the chains strain as tanks come into view, using the chains to haul themselves up the side of the cliff. Each tank gets bombed multiple times but they just continue scaling the mountain, quickly reaching the small plateau at the foot of the temple. Flames burst forth and gliders have to dodge sharply to avoid the columns of fire. Slime bombs don't make a dent. Aang blasts the tanks away but it's no use, they flip over and continue the trudge towards the temple on the spiked wheels and treads they're on.

Teo flies in next to Katara and she shouts, "Those things are unstoppable!"

"I think I know how they work. I remember my dad tinkering with the counterbalancing system. It's something to do with water, I guess it works great."

"Water?" She grins, "Get me close to them, I can stop them!" She hops onto the back of his wheelchair and they zoom towards the fight. She lands in the center of it and immediately starts bending. Ice forms around one tank and pulls it into the ground. The wheels fall off. Four more to go. She takes another one out with the same technique, this time throwing a wall of ice up in response to the flames shot in her direction. Aang disposes of another few fires. "Shit," seven more tanks arrive. The wheels fall off of another one. Appa lands in front of the pair, roaring. They scramble onto his back and take off, leaving the tanks behind.

They land gracelessly in the courtyard. Teo zooms up. "We're out of bombs!"

Katara swears, "Where's Sokka and the war balloon? We need them!" As soon as the words leave her mouth a giant red blimp rises from the temple. A dark Fire Nation insignia contrast with the red. She whoops with every other person there in excitement as they drop their bombs on the tanks below. The infantry is completely washed away. The tanks keep coming. The cheering dies as the bombs stop. They must have used them all up. After several seconds that feel entirely too long another bomb drops but not onto the enemies, into a deep crevice in the mountain.

The explosion knocks the tanks off the mountain, snapping their chains and even knocks the people in the courtyard back a few steps. Appa snorts angrily. Black smoke rises. "Look, they're retreating!" All the kids start to shout and holler, happy to be alive until the giant war balloon rushes through the smoke and into view, going down at a frightening pace. Aang jumps onto his glider and Katara scales Appa, both racing towards the falling balloon.

Sokka's boomerang with a rope attached catches Aang's foot and he and the mechanic are pulled clear of the wreck. Aang lowers the onto Appa's back and Katara guides the sky bison under them. They land safely amid shouts and cheers and songs. They flop against Appa, completely drained but overall feeling good about the day's victory. Katara and Sokka ignore that people died, Aang doesn't even really realize it. The Avatar goes over to Teo, a huge smile on his face. "You know what, I'm really glad you guys live here now. It's like the hermit crab you showed me. Maybe you weren't born here, but you found this old empty shell and made it your home. Now you protect each other. I'm sure the monks would have been happy to have you here."

"Thanks, that means a lot coming from you."

"Aang, you were right about air power! As long as we control the skies, we'll have the Fire Nation on the run!" Sokka shouts happily.

. . .

Zuko's sweating has gone down. His fever has broken and finally for the first time in days he wakes up with the sun. He begins to write a letter that's destined for the North Pole.

. . .

**And next the Northern Water Tribe! This chapter doesn't have a lot of Katara's inner turmoil but in reality the depression and the self-loathing would come and go and I'm trying to portray this accurately. For a person like her she would push herself until she breaks then pick herself back up and push herself until she breaks. For some people it swallows them for a long time, for others it's a come and go, I always imagined Katara's would be more off and on.**

**Angel Swimming, I plan on speeding up over some parts but putting detail in others, it really depends on how close to the show that part is or how important it is. I'll be trying to go through each episode though - or at least the ones that still fit into this universe. I might spend little to no time on them like I did with the deserter in this chapter or I might go into depth with them like Bato or the Northern Air Temple episode. **

**Again, thank you all for the wonderful reviews and the views and favorites, it really helps push me to do more and keep writing!**


	12. Chapter 12

It smells like home only a little bit fishier to Katara. The sea brine is on the air, the breeze combs through Appa's fur and her hair. Her parka is on, the same as when they set out on this journey. Now though it's growing tight across the shoulders and the chest and is significantly shorter. She sits back and enjoys the cold ocean smells as Aang steers and Sokka complains loudly to Momo.

"I don't know Momo but yeah, I think Appa could fly a little higher too," Sokka sighs theatrically and Aang looses it.

"I've been listening to you complain for the past hour and a half! So how about we all climb onto your back and you can fly us to the North Pole!"

"Oh that would be my pleasure!" Sokka turns around and twitches his rear. "Everyone climb aboard the Sokka express, we're going to the Northern Water Tribe."

Katara flicks water at him. "Calm down. We're all cranky and tired from flying for two days straight and Appa is no exception, in fact he's probably feeling worse than any of us so would you all please shut the fuck up!" Sokka crosses his arms and pouts. Aang turns around grumbling. "Thank you!" She throws her hands up and goes back to staring at the sky. There's an empty feeling behind her ribs and she bends water in a stream above her head to keep her mind off of it. The water underneath them changes to something new that she's never felt, it tugs oddly. She can feel the pull towards more people, more benders! She opens her mouth to share the good news but ice springs forward in front of them. Appa rolls to the side almost tipping everyone off. Another pillar of ice shoots towards them and Appa bellows. Katara melts it in time but only barely. Water slams into Appa's belly and pulls him down to water level which Katara fights but the other benders' wills combined is stronger than hers. Canoes encircle them, the occupants all eyeing the sky bison carefully.

"Well guys, we found the Northern Water Tribe."

"Who are you? What do you want?" The seeming chief of the little band of water benders stand imperiously in his canoe. Katara has to resist the urge to tip it and wipe the smug look off his face.

Aang pipes up, "Hi, I'm the Avatar and my friends are Katara and Sokka from the Southern Water Tribe. We're here looking for a water bending master!"

The man sniffs and appraises the innocently smiling boy, the girl in a water bending stance, the boy with his hand poised over a boomerang, Momo who is bounding around in the saddle angrily, and Appa who is almost asleep where he floats. "Fine Avatar. Come with us." The five canoes escort them another league before the city comes into view, the high walls of ice with the symbol of water carved into them take the siblings' breath away. The closer they get the more anxious they become.

Sokka leans in close to Katara. "I forgot to tell you but Bato said not to mention that you were captured by the Fire Nation to these people. Especially don't tell them that you stayed in the same room as that scumbag prince."

"He's not a scumbag," she hisses but Sokka just stares her down. "Fine, I won't say anything. I wouldn't have even brought it up anyway. You might want to tell Aang though." Sokka nods and moves towards Aang, whispering in his ear as the surrounding water benders create a tunnel through the wall. The emerge inside a lock that quickly fills with water from the sides. Soon the water is high enough that they can continue further into the city.

Sokka inhales sharply. "This is amazing! Look at all of this, if we'd had this back home -" his words trail off in wonder.

Katara takes everything in, wide-eyed, and tries to absorb as much of it as she can. Towers reach to the sky and ice bridges criss cross over canals that seem to serve as the main mode of transportation. There are so many buildings and so many people, all dressed in Water Tribe blue. She's suddenly very aware of the red clothes in her bag and is thankful she's wearing her parka instead of the padded robe she's ben using as a blanket recently. Already within moments of seeing them, there are smiles and appreciative nods. Children run up and point at Appa. This isn't uncommon but these are her people! It feels so safe here! Aang waves happily, enjoying the attention. "I'm sure we'll find a master to teach us, right Katara?" She nods, there must be hundreds of benders here.

They float along the canal through three more walls, gaining more followers with the distance. Waterfalls rush beside them and fountains sprinkle. Another skiff passes them, the woman in it not looking at them but the water bender in it gawking. Her white hair is done in elaborate braids clipped together with aquamarine gems carved into delicate representations of the water element. Her clear butterscotch skin contrasts with the deep purple of her fur trimmed parka in the most beautiful way possible. She has ice blue eyes that Sokka could fall into and he scrambles to the edge of Appa's tail just to look at her a moment longer even though she never once turns her head or acknowledges their presence. She is the most beautiful woman he's ever seen, more beautiful than sunsets and moonrises and fires cooking hearty stew after a cold day. She's more beautiful than the view from Appa's back as they fly over the ocean, watching waves crash against each other. He is smitten and she doesn't even know he exists.

. . .

Prince Zuko's fever had broken two weeks ago and now he sits on the deck, waiting to hear from his men. Only the seamen and low petty officers are aloud to spread the rumors, they aren't known and associated with Zuko. He's sent them out in every port between the Air Temple and here. The stories won't be traced back to them, the stories may not even get spread around a lot at first, but soon it will spread like wildfire, of that they're sure! Now, in the last Fire Nation port before the trek into Northern Water Tribe waters, the soldiers hop from bar to bar, planting the seeds of truth in those willing to listen. A few people challenge them but most are either to drunk to care or so sick of the war that they actually want to hear this. Zuko hopes enough people will be willing to listen to the truth. He can't put his name with the rumors because he needs to get back in his father's good graces, but damn he wishes he were doing something other than sitting around! The master plan calls for him in the palace and so he has to keep quiet and work on capturing the Avatar. He channels all of his frustration into thrusts with his Dao swords, sparring with thin air.

Iroh sings off-key beside the fire pit. It's music night again but each of them have seemed odd and strained since they left the Yu-Yan compound without the full crew. Lieutenant Jee strums a pipa and Hyeng dances with another sailor, perhaps a bit closer than is customary. They break apart as soon as new footsteps ring out from the gangplank. Iroh continues to belt out the sad melody, ignoring the newcomers. "Winter, spring, summer and fall. Winter and spring, summer and fall. Four seasons, four loves. Four seasons, four loves."

A slow clap comes from the bastard that didn't bother asking if he could board, Admiral Zhao. "Stirring performance General Iroh, you should have gone into music instead of the military," he drawls.

Zuko jumps up, quickly sheathing his weapons, "What are you doing on my ship?"

"Well, it looks like the sullen prince actually decided to leave his room. I heard that your pet water bender escaped and you didn't talk to anyone after that. Tell me, was she that good?"

Zuko lunges, smoke streaming from his fists. "Shut up! You don't know what you're talking about." Iroh grabs the boy before he can assault the admiral. "Get the fuck off my ship!"

"Tsk, tsk, is that anyway to treat an admiral?" His eyes widen as they land on the swords strapped to Zuko's back. "Interesting choice of weapon for a fire bending prince."

"It's best to be versatile."

"Hmm. Have you heard of the Blue Spirit, General Iroh?"

Iroh shrugs, "Just rumors. I don't think he's real."

"He's real all right." Zhao steps closer to Zuko. "He's an enemy of the Fire Nation, he released the Avatar, and justice will come to him soon I'm sure."

Zuko deflects cooly, "Was there a reason you're on my ship."

Zhao steps back, re-aware of his original intent. "I'm here for your crew."

"What!" Zhao hands the Prince a scroll with the royal insignia stamped on it. After a quick scan the parchment starts to smoke dangerously. "You can't do this!"

"I can and I am. I've recruited them for a little expedition to the North Pole. I'm taking everyone. I can't have you getting in my way anymore."

The men, now Zhao's men not Zuko's sneer at the admiral angrily. Hyeng speaks up. "What if we don't want to go with you? I'd rather quit and volunteer my time for Prince Zuko than for scum like you. You use your men as fodder!"

"No," Zuko grits his teeth but forces the words out. "Do as he says, the Fire Lord sent orders. Go with Zhao." Hyeng looks over at him and after a moment nods. They know what he means. They need to spread the truth of the Air Nomads and they need the military to be able to do it. Zuko stalks off to his room as his men gather their things. Iroh follows.

"Nephew?"

"Go away Uncle."

"It's not as bad as it seems."

Zuko buries his face in the pillow. "How Uncle? How is it not as bad? My own father is letting Zhao take my _entire _crew and there's nothing I can do about it! Even worse, they're going to Zhao. Zhao knows that I'm the Blue Spirit and ugh! Things just started looking better, now they're falling apart again!"

Iroh sits on the bed next to him, laying a hand on the boy's back. "I don't know how yet, but things will work themselves out. There's always a silver lining, we just have to find it."

. . .

The three travelers sit at the table at the head of a great ice hall filled to the brim with people. Drums bang steadily until the man to their right stands, his arms raised for silence. "Tonight we celebrate the arrival of a brother and sister from the Southern Water Tribe and they have brought with them someone very special. Many of you may have believed that our visitor even disappeared from the world for a time." A shiver of anticipation runs through the crowd at Chief Arnook's words. "We have in our midsts, the Avatar!" Cheers erupt and Aang blushes. People are smiling and hollering, excited to have their hope returned to them. Eventually the chief raises his hands again. "Today we also celebrate my daughter's sixteenth birthday. Princess Yue is now of marrying age!" This time the cheers are more respectful except for the young men which hoot and trill as the young woman from earlier, the one Sokka was speechless over walks in from a side hall to sit down at the head table next to him.

"Thank you father. May the great Ocean and Moon Spirits watch over us in these troubled times."

Arnook nods. "And now without further ado, Master Pakku and his students will perform!" He sits down as three men get into bending position in front of the high table. Sokka has his eyes glued to Princess Yue and the food in front of them as Aang and Katara watch the benders. Three large ice vases melt and they, along with the water that had been inside, spiral toward the men. The three huge water whips twist and writhe and slide against each other in a sparkling display of control until they fall into three separate bubbles held over the benders' heads. The water swirls around each man separately until they combine to form an even larger mass of water that circles them quickly. The benders toss the liquid back and forth between them until, with a flourish, Master Pakku creates new ice vases and the two students bend the remaining water into them.

"That was phenomenal!" Katara cries.

"I know, it was so cool! Did you see the end, I didn't realize people could do stuff like that!"

"Yeah, I can't wait until we get to start learning!" The water bender and the avatar continue fawning over the performance as Sokka squares his shoulders, preparing to attempt to talk to the woman beside him.

"Hi, there. I'm Sokka you know uh from the Southern Water Tribe."

Yue smiles politely. "Nice to meet you."

"So uh, you're a princess huh?" Almost immediately he wants to bang his his head against the table. What a stupid question. "You know, back in my tribe, I'm kind of a prince myself." He groans inwardly. That wasn't much better.

Unfortunately Katara overhears and cocks an eyebrow. "Really now, prince of what exactly?"

"A lot of things! Butt out Katara, trying to have a conversation here."

"Oh, my apologies Prince Sokka." She gives a low bow with ever ounce of nobility she can muster, copying the face she often saw Zuko wear of haughtiness.

Sokka ignores her and turns back to Yue. "So it looks like I'll be in town for awhile. I'm thinking maybe we could," he's loosing hope already, "Do an activity together or something?"

Yue giggles into her sleeve. "Do an activity?" Sokka just blushes and turns away, embarrassed. That didn't go according to plan. It's much easier to just pay attention to food. Food doesn't care how big of a dork someone is.

Katara props her elbow on the table, looking at her brother. "Smooth Sokka, really smooth."

He shoves more food into his mouth. "Shut up."

"No, really. That was impressive, almost as good as when you got your ass kicked by Suki back on Kyoshi Island." He glares at her and she grins. Behind him Yue daintily picks up individual rolls and sets them on her plate before eating. She's watching Sokka curiously though.

The feast ends quietly with no other embarrassing moments. Aang is busy greeting people and talking with officials but the sibling are starting to get tired. An attendant shows them to their rooms. Fur lines the floor and walls and their stuff has already been brought in from Appa for them. Sokka shimmies into his sleeping bag without question and Katara pulls her mutilated one out. It's been cut down the center and so won't keep her warm by itself. She could use the robe she's been using as a blanket, but here, in the middle of the North Pole it seems like some kind of affront to her culture. It seems like an even worse idea considering that Sokka had warned her not tell anyone here about her time on the ship. It's cold though and the robe is warm so she lays on top of the sleeping bag with part of it draped over her, the rest of her covered up by the robe. Aang wanders in an hour later but both Sokka and Katara are already fast asleep. He plops into his sleeping bag and is out.

Katara wakes up in the middle of the night sweating. There's someone in the room! The ice walls underneath the pelts make it easy to attack the shadow. She sends a spike into the corner with all her force. No one's there but she turns back around to Sokka staring at her groggily. He goes back to sleep but Katara stays up and goes outside to not disturb anyone. The moon is setting and the horizon is beginning turn the lightest shade of pink. In the predawn she explores the city, working off her adrenaline. She's careful to stay to the streets that are well lit, the shadows give her the creeps. The city inside the innermost wall is gorgeous, canals turning into streams that splash over rocks and fountains that mimic waterfalls. Stairs lead up to an open field of ice and snow in front of one of the many wings of the palace. Waterfalls line the back of it and Katara stops, listening to the water. It calls to her and she answers, pulling it from the falls and reservoir underneath. It circles her and she raises her arms to do the water octopus. The tentacles reach out and snap at the air as she jabs forward only recede back with the swing of her arm. It feels so good to bend here not having to worry about who will see or if a guard will take her practice the wrong way. She freezes the tentacles and slowly, excruciatingly slowly, pulls water from the ends of them, melting them while bringing the water into the air. A water whip cuts through her work. "What was that for!"

She turns around to see the last person she expected, Master Pakku. "You're a woman, you're not supposed to be bending like a man here. Maybe that's okay in your tribe," he sneers the word, "But here we behave like civilized people."

"What the hell do you mean by that? I'm perfectly fucking civilized!"

He raises an eyebrow at her language. "Obviously. Now, why don't you go back to the healing hut with the other women, they'll begin in a few hours."

"I already know how to heal." Not completely but that's beside the point. "I came to the North Pole to learn how to fight!"

"Too bad," Pakku shrugs, "It's forbidden to teach women in our tribe. I know you came with the Avatar to learn but you won't learn bending from me or anyone else in the city."

"There have got to be other female benders in the tribe! It can't just be men!"

"Here the women learn from Yugoda how to heal. Like I said, go to the healing hut, she might take you even with your attitude."

"That's-"

"And if you continue to argue I may not teach the Avatar."

Her nostrils flare and after angrily glaring at him for another second she stomps off. Fuck him. Fuck that bullshit. She was treated better on Zuko's ship than here! There she got to bend without too many interruptions and they even taught her more. Here, with her own fucking people, they're trying to stop her from it! She might as well learning healing today though, at least until she can talk to Arnook and get this figured out.

. . .

For once Sokka is out of bed of his own free will before the sun is too terribly high in the sky. He doesn't remember his sister's half-crazed attempt to kill a shadow this morning. He's hoping to run into Princess Yue again. He strolls around the Upper Ring admiring little trinkets and candies that stores sell. Of course he absolutely has to try a jerky stand that boasts twenty-seven different flavors. He loves them all. Then he sees her, the most beautiful woman in the world. Her hair is the same as yesterday but it shines with extra radiance today. Her face is the same but it seems more open when he she spots him. Her skin is the same except extraordinary now that faint blush rises to her cheeks. Her perfect soft lips part in greeting and Sokka walks right into the canal, not realizing that the sidewalk has stopped.

The gondolier bends him back onto the ground and she commands the boat to stop. "Are you okay?"

"Oh, uh, yeah it's fine, happens all the time." Not the best thing to say but the giggle makes it worth it.

"Okay then, I'm glad you're not hurt."

"I'm fine but I was wondering if maybe I could see more of you sometime."

"You mean do an activity."

It's Sokka's turn to blush. "Yes! Uh at a place, sometime!"

"I'd love to," She smiles and his world stops for a moment. "I'll meet you on that bridge tonight."

"Great, I'll see you then!"

She motions the gondolier to continue but pauses. "Would you like to go around town with me for an hour or two?"

"That sounds fantastic!"

"Get in." Sokka scrambles into the canoe before the set off again. After an awkward moment they both attempt to break the ice at the same time. Eventually it's decided that Princess Yue should get to talk first. "So what's the Southern Water Tribe like?"

"Well, it's really cold." He laughs and sets off on a story about getting frozen to the town wall. She replies with a story about a fish cook in the Lower Ring who can pull all the bones out of a fish with one move. He tells her another story and she tells him one and they end up crying from laughter as they ride around the city, Yue checking on her people.

. . .

Katara takes in the odd site. A dummy lays on a platform in the middle of a bed of water. Deep lines carved into the dummy glow blue as an old woman waves her hands over them. A touch to the center cut, right over the heart, makes the dummy shine for a moment before all glowing stops.

"Hi, are you Yugoda?"

The old woman responds, "Are yo there for the healing lesson?"

Katara looks at the little girls all kneeling around the mannequin and slumps. "I guess I am."

"Welcome!" Katara sits down by the dummy's head and sighs quietly. This is going to be fun. Yugoda is going over basics, things Katara knows from practice but doesn't know why they work. She learns what the strings of energy she felt inside of Zuko are called - chi. By the time it's over Katara has decided that learning to heal is nice but right now she'd rather be fighting. She can learn how to heal later, after the war. The children take the dummy away and Katara approaches the old woman.

"Thank you for the lesson."

"You're welcome child. So, who's the lucky boy?"

"Huh?"

"Your betrothal necklace, you're getting married right?"

"Oh no no no!" She denies it vehemently but mores because the image of Zuko dangling it in front of her face as she was bound to the tree just came to mind. "I'm not getting married! It's a family heirloom, my grandmother gave it to my mother and my mother to me."

"Ah okay." Yugoda peers at it, "I know that carving! I don't know why I didn't realize it sooner, you're the spitting image of Kana!"

"You know Gran-Gran?"

Yugoda laughs. "Of course! We grew up together, she was born here in the North Pole."

"That's odd, she never told me."

"Well why would she, I'm guessing she left that part of her behind when ran off. She had an arranged marriage to a young very handsome water bender. He carved that necklace for her."

Katara touches the necklace lightly, "If she was engaged, why did she leave?"

"Who knows, she never told me. In fact she left without saying goodbye. If there's anything I can do to help you while you're here let me know."

"Well actually I was wondering about burn scars." The words slip out without her consent. She might as well finish the question now. "Is there anyway to heal them once they've healed on their own?"

Yugoda puts her hand on her chin thinking. "Usually the burns we deal with are fresh. We deal with a few normal scars so I suppose it would work the same. It won't heal the scar completely but it will break up the scar tissue underneath the skin. That makes it less bumpy and stiff and allows the skin to move a little more naturally. Would you like to learn?"

She might as well. "Yes please."

"Okay, come with me. You can't learn this on a dummy." Yugoda leads her out of the healing hut, down the stairs, into the Middle Ring, and finally into the Lower Ring where most of the military stuff is kept. Some shops and houses are here but not many. The old woman leads Katara through an archway beside the canal where she knocks gently on a door. A middle aged woman with stark black hair pulled back into a ponytail answers and smiles.

"Come on in and who's this?" She looks Katara up and down, sending shivers down the girl's back.

"This is Katara, the girl who came in with the Avatar yesterday."

"Ah, so you're one of the ones everyone's talking about. Good to meet you, I'm Ming," The woman has gold eyes, that's what threw Katara off! She laughs at the younger girl's stare. "I know, I know. My dad was a fire bender, my mom was Water Tribe I got his eyes but her element."

"So you're a water bender?"

"Yupp and I'm worth three times my weight in those male benders!"

"Ming here bends for some of the fishing vessels but we're here about her scars. Would you mind if Katara helped me heal you? She wants to learn how to heal burn scars and while your aren't burns, they're the best we've got."

Ming barks out a laugh and nonchalantly shrugs out of her pants. "No problem." Katara gasps and has to hold back the yelp but she covers her mouth without realizing it. The woman's legs are a mass of scars, not burns or scrapes but knifings. Each scar is a delicate white line raised on her caramel skin. The cuts go from ankle to hip and probably beyond. They look so much like what Katara's legs would have looked like. Tears are in her eyes and she backs into the door, hyperventilating. "Hey," the woman covers herself angrily, "You don't have to be a bitch about it, they're not that bad."

Katara sits against the door, trying to get her breathing under control. What's wrong with her? She shouldn't be acting like this, she didn't even act like this when she saw her own. Panic squeezes her lungs and she can't breathe! There's not enough air, she's going to - a cool hand rests on her forehead. Water pulses against her temples and she begins to calm. After a minute the glowing stops and Katara can breathe again. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to. It's not you or your scars it's just, I'm sorry."

Ming still looks pissed but her expression softens as Yugoda speaks. "What happened to you? You had the same look in your eyes as some of the men who come back from war. What's happened to you child?"

Katara's spine straightens and she remember's Sokka's warning to not tell them anything. She forces a smile and wipes the tears from her eyes. "It's nothing. Nothing at all."

Both women look unconvinced but neither say anything against her. Ming just grasps her shoulder firmly. "You'll be okay, kid. It gets easier."

"What happened if you don't mind my asking."

Ming shrugs, "I came here from the Fire Nation colonies where women are treated," she coughs, "considerably differently. It wasn't safe for a water bender there. When I started trying to find work on the ships as a bender a few of the men really didn't like that idea. I kicked their asses but whenever I got back from a voyage - which was hard enough finding someone willing to take on a female bender - they were there waiting. It didn't matter what authorities I told, they just ignored me. When they came at me the last time with their knives, they held me down and cut me up saying I'd never work again. As soon as my hands got free I skewered one of them. I was found not guilty due to self defense and they haven't bothered me since but my healing wasn't good enough and I didn't see a healer soon enough to fix this mess."

"I'm so sorry."

"Don't be. What happened happened, now I just have to live with it. I'm not going to give up who I am and what I love because someone stupid tries to make me stop." Katara has just found her new favorite person. "So, think you're okay to try and work on this?" Katara nods and this time Ming just rolls her pants to her knees instead of dropping them.

Yugoda puts a comforting hand on Katara's shoulder. "Now, feel for the tissue underneath the skin."

. . .

Zuko stares at his candles, trying and failing to keep them steady. What is he going to do? How is he going to capture the Avatar now? How is he going to restore his honor and the honor of the Fire Nation. Iroh opens the door, it hasn't been locked with the fire lock in quite some time. "It's a lovely night for a walk Prince Zuko. It will help clear your mind." Iroh sighs when Zuko doesn't move. "Or you can just stay in here and meditate, whatever makes you happy."

"No Uncle, I'll come."

"Thank you Nephew." The pair walk out onto the deserted deck when Iroh pauses, raising his hand like he used to to his troops. "Zuko, go inside and sneak out of the ship. Don't let anyone see you but get out quickly."

"Why, what's going on?"

"The pirates that we met forever ago, I just saw two sneak on board."

Zuko inhales sharply. "Shouldn't we fight them then! It's probably Zhao, he knows I'm the Blue Spirit."

"No, go inside I doubt they'll try to take you head on so just sneak out without them seeing. Let them think their plan works." Zuko nods and strolls casually back inside, back to his room. Should he grab anything? No there's nothing here he's really attached to, even his Blue Spirit gear would be easy to replace. He grabs his money and pads down the hallway, sticking to shadows. He goes down a flight of stairs. Those pirates aren't nearly as quiet as they think they are. He hears something drop and one of them swear. It would be so easy to - no, if Zhao doesn't think his plan works he'll never stop hunting him. Zuko goes down more stairs until he stands next to the hatch that he'd used to sneak off the ship to rescue Aang and that Katara had left from. He still misses her. It opens and the he looks out at the harbor, the moon shining off of the water and the ships standing stark against the sea. This is what his life has been for the past two years, is he really ready to let that go?

His question is answered for him when the metal under his feet shakes. The ship is exploding! Zuko dives into the sea, narrowly missing several strips of his ship as they fly into the water.

. . .

Sokka steps onto the bridge where Yue is already waiting. She looks different now, sadder than she did this morning. "Hi, I made you something, I carved it myself." He offers a little wooden carving to her, hoping that maybe that will help cheer her up. It's not a good one but he wants to give her something, anything to let her know that he's thinking of her.

"It's a bear!"

"Actually it's a fish," he turns it sideways, "See the little fin?"

"Oh," her smile falls, "I'm sorry, I made a mistake! I shouldn't have asked you to come here." Tears run down her face as she runs off, leaving him confused on the bridge. What just happened? He shouldn't have corrected her, it was stupid of him! Let her think it's a damn bear! He throws the carving into the canal and stomps back to the palace, kicking things the moment he gets to his room. He's - kick - so - kick - stupid!

"Hey, what's up? What's going on, you'll break the walls if you keep doing that." Katara grabs Sokka and steers him down to the pelts on the floor and quickly patches up the wall where it's starting to crack.

"Nothing," he mutters.

"Warrior training going badly?"

"Sure." He crosses his arms and sinks his head into his hands. Katara rubs his back, knowing better than to try to get him to talk when he's like this.

Aang chimes in, "It's going that bad?"

Sokka raises his head and pleads with the spirits for patience not to throttle the kid. "No, it's Princess Yue. We spent the morning together and had a great time but then this evening she's crying and pretty much telling me to get lost." He groans and tries to change the subject. "How's water bending training?"

Now it's Katara's turn to groan. "Master Poopyhead Pakku refuses to train me because I'm a girl. I ended up spending all day with Yugoda learning about healing and while that's great, I want to learn how to fight!"

They're all thinking about the ship as she says that, knowing that if she had been able to bend better then things would have gone differently. There's no way Sokka's baby sister is leaving here without knowing how to fight, she may have gotten better on that ship but he still worries and her having an actual teacher would be best. Healing is good but - judging from the amount of blood he saw and how she had absolutely no cuts or scars when he next saw her, her healing powers are just fine. "Why don't you have Aang teach you?"

"Oh! I didn't even think of that! Why don't you teach me at night what you learned during the day. That way I learn bending and you have someone to practice with. It's a win win!"

"Yeah, let's do it!" Katara and Aang hurry out of the room, leaving Sokka with his depressing thoughts, a mix of worry for his little sister and pity for himself.

There's a knock on the ice beside the pelt door. "Uh, come in?"

A servant bows slightly as she enter the room. "Is Miss Katara here?"

"No, she just left, why?"

"Well, a letter came for her about a week ago. We forgot about it until just now. Would you please be so kind as to give it to her?"

"Yeah, no problem." The girl hands him the tightly rolled scroll and a larger one before walking out. Who would be writing to his sister? The calligraphy is in the small one is tight and angular and he wants to open it up and read it so badly. She'll tear him a new one if she finds out. She just won't find out then.

. . .

"Master Pakku said this move is all about sinking and floating." Aang pulls water from the canal and plays with it for a moment before passing it to Katara. She handles it easily, smoothly before it starts circling her speedily before zooming straight up. "Cool Katara, I didn't know you could do that!"

"It wasn't me." Her fears as confirmed at the sigh of Poopyhead Pakku standing on the bridge over them. Her water is now in ice shards around him.

"I was just showing her a few moves Master Pakku! It was to help me practice!"

"You have disrespected me, my teachings, and my entire culture!" He roars.

"I'm sorry! I didn't think it was that bad!"

"You are no longer welcome as my student." He walks off but the ground underneath him shakes. The ice bridge cracks and crumbles underneath him, bringing the master down with it in front of a fuming Katara.

"That was fucking disrespect. What Aang did wasn't. Learn the fucking difference!" She storms off, back to her room with Aang tailing behind her, glancing back at the furious Pakku still getting his breath back.

"You really shouldn't have done that." They're already inside by the time Aang catches up to her.

"I don't care! He doesn't get to treat me like shit or you like it because you try to teach me!" She rips aside the pelt to their room.

"What the hell is this!" Sokka shouts, brandishing a piece of paper.

"Do not mess with me right now, Sokka."

"No, right now is the best time! Someone came while you were gone and gave me this for you!" He shoves the letter into her hands. "Do you know who that's from? It's from Zuko, asking for your help. Exactly what happened between the two of you huh?"

"You were reading my mail!" The room drops temperature. "What were you doing reading my mail!"

"You- you weren't here and I thought -"

"You thought you could just go through my stuff! Does the word privacy or mine mean anything to you?" She screeches, the ice walls starting to crack in her fury. She stomps out furiously, the letter still clutched in her fist. It takes a good five minutes at least before she's calm enough to stop swearing under her breath and wanting to punch things. Anyone she comes across in the hallways quickly scurries out of her way. It takes another ten minutes before she's calm enough that her footsteps don't sound like an angry Komodo rhino. Finally, out in the snow and ice she sits under a lantern and unravels the scroll, smoothing out creases. Her pulse quickens at the sight of his writing, she hadn't realized she misses him so much. What in the world would he have to say though?

_Katara,_

_You were right about the Air Nomads. I went to the Western Air Temple and there was nothing there except Fire Nation stuff. We explored the temple but, it was worse than you could imagine. My own people did that! I have to return honor to my country, I have to stop this war. I'm going to get Aang and bring him to Capitol City so I can get back into my father's good graces. After that we bust him out with no one knowing. From the palace I'll be able to spread the truth of the war before they can silence me. My people are sick of the bloodshed and I'm sure the rest of the world is too. Will you come with me? Will you help me convince Aang and then stop this war? Please Katara. You can come back with me, it wouldn't entirely be safe but I would protect you. I think you would be happy there, especially once the war stops. I also got the scroll you asked for, about the chi in a person's body. It's attached. Help me end this war._

_-Zuko_

She rereads it. He went to the Western Air Temple, she can't believe it! It could be a trick, he could be trying to get Aang back to the Fire Nation and then not let him go. Zuko's not a good liar though especially to direct questions. Aang would never go for it. She's not sure she's for it. There are so many ways it could go wrong and while she trusts him, she's not sure she trusts him _that_ much. He did let her go, but he still tried to capture Aang when she was leaving. She hasn't seen Zuko since she left though, that's got to mean something! Maybe he's really not trying to capture Aang anymore or at least maybe he really did go to the temple. There are too many options, she needs to speak to him. She hurries off to write him a letter back but stops. She has no idea where to send it. How is she supposed to plan anything or tell him what's going on if she has no clue where to send a reply? Maybe he'll show up, he has an uncanny ability to just show up places, maybe he'll just show up here.

Footsteps plod towards her, it's Sokka. "What do you want?"

His shoulders droop as he walks towards her and drops to the ground beside her. "I'm sorry about what I did. That I," He sighs, "You were gone and I freaked out. I couldn't protect you, I couldn't get back to you and I didn't know what to do. Aang and I almost split up after you got taken. I made it onto the ship and I saw all the blood and I lost it. I thought they were killing you and there was nothing I could do except run away. When I saw you on the beach it was fantastic but you weren't the same little girl that had been taken away from me."

"Sokka, it's okay."

"No, I have to tell you, I can't live with it anymore. You scared me, you were so different and looked so hard and part of me just died because I wasn't there to protect you. You've started bending better, you're more confident and I wasn't there to stop them, to let you be a kid longer."

"Sokka, I stopped being a kid the day Mom died."

Tears escape from his eyes. "I know, but that doesn't mean I can't still try to protect you! When I saw that letter yeah I was curious but when I realized it was from Zuko, what happened on that ship? I overheard you talking to Bato about the guy who did all the bad stuff but what about the rest? Why does Zuko trust you, why do you defend him?"

She punches him lightly, "You shouldn't eavesdrop." She looks up at the clear night sky and swallows before answering, "When I was first brought on board they could have thrown me in a cell but Uncle - Iroh - had me brought to his room so that no one would bother me. I was a lone girl on a ship full of men so they determined that his room was the best place. After the uh incident Zuko killed Chang." She pauses to regain her calm. "They made sure I got proper medical treatment and I was moved to Zuko's room." Sokka's nostrils flare but he says nothing. "I didn't wear the manacles after that and they taught me how to bend better. I got to practice for however long I wanted each day and I got the water bending scroll that I stole from the pirates. Iroh actually taught me a technique that improved my bending a lot. I made friends with a lot of the crew and they treated me very well. The cook even started making deserts specifically for me. I learned strategics with Zuko and at night we would drink and talk until we could finally fall asleep - separately of course. We talked about all kinds of things, I think we were almost friends actually."

"Why does he keep coming after us though? If he's such an okay guy why is he chasing us."

Katara doesn't really want to tell her brother about it but the situation calls for it. "When he was younger, Zuko spoke out at a war meeting, trying to save some new recruits from getting slaughtered. For that his father burnt his face and banished him. He has to bring Aang with him if he wants to go back home."

"His own father did that!"

"Yeah, the guy's psycho from what I've heard."

Sokka shudders at the thought of having a parent like that. "So, that's what the letter meant with the bit about getting back on his dad's good side?" Katara nods. "Well, I still don't trust him. Aang shouldn't go with him."

Katara laughs hollowly. "It really doesn't matter what either of us think, there's no place to send a letter."

"Oh." They sit in silence for a minute. The last part of the letter was bugging him. "Did he really offer for you to live in the palace with him?"

She snickers. "Yeah, usually he was drunk when he offered but not every time."

"There were multiple times!" Katara shrugs, she's never really thought anything of it. She doesn't think he's every had real friends before and so he wanted to keep his only friend close, that and the incident had terrified him. She remembers his nightmares. "Well," Sokka stretches after awhile. "I think I'm headed back to bed." He walks off and soon Katara follows.

The next morning Katara wakes up to a drenched sleeping bag, but at least she didn't wake up from the nightmares. Even though it concerns him, Katara doesn't say anything about the letter to Aang and he doesn't ask though he does shoot her questioning looks throughout breakfast. "Miss Katara and Avatar Aang?" A servant bows to them as they get up from breakfast.

"Yes?"

"Chief Arnook and Master Pakku wish to speak with both of you." Katara's stomach drops, after the letter she hadn't even thought about Pakku. Sokka follows after them and they all walk to the main hall where Arnook sits on a dias under an ornate arch with Princess Yue on his right and Master Pakku on his left. What seems to be the tribe's council sit behind them.

Chief Arnook evaluates the group in front of him. "Master Pakku told me what happened last , Miss Katara, destroyed a bridge, part of our city after openly disrespecting our culture and our traditions. This is unacceptable!"

"Chief Arnook, I was outraged and I'm sorry. I came to the Northern Water Tribe to learn bending but was turned away because of my gender. When Aang taught me what he had learned Master Pakku said he was being disrespectful and said he wouldn't teach him anymore! Aang isn't a member of the Northern Water Tribe and so he had every right to teach me! As for the bridge, I overreacted but I wanted to show Pakku what real disrespect looks like!" Katara is struggling to keep cool.

"_Master_ Pakku was completely within his right to end the Avatar's lessons and you had no right to behave the way you did."

She grinds her teeth, trying not to shout with rage. "I'm sorry for how I behaved, but I think teaching the Avatar is a little more important than personal feelings."

"What would you have me do, force Master Pakku to take the Avatar back?"

"Yes, please!"

"I suspect he might change his mind if you swallow your pride and apologize. If you do I'm sure we can forget about the bridge." Arnook smirks but tries to hide it.

Katara's nostrils flare and her jaw clenches. She'll do it but only because of Aang. That is the only reason. If he weren't here she'd chew into those bastards! Pakku doesn't bother to hide his smirk. "I'm waiting little girl." That's it, that's the last straw! Her fists clench and fire erupts in her eyes.

"No! There is no way in hell I'm apologizing to a sour old man like you! You don't let me learn because what, I have breasts! That doesn't matter to the Fire Nation, that's pretty pathetic when the people we're fighting have a better idea of women's abilities than you do! I'm just as strong as any of you here!" She yells with her hands, the ice vases on the sides of the dias start to crack. Sokka and Aang begin to slowly back away wide-eyed as her motions get angrier and angrier. "I can take you on, prove just how strong I am. I'll be outside if you're man enough to face me!" Katara turns on her heels and stomps out, the floor cracking under her anger.

Sokka runs after her, "Are you crazy! You're not going to win this!"

She tosses her parka off. "I don't care!"

Aang zooms up, "You don't have to do this, I can find another teacher."

"This isn't about you Aang! I'm not going to let them treat them treat me like a second class citizen because I happen to be a girl! I'm going to slap some sense into that old man!" That old man appears at the top of the stairs. "So," Katara shouts, "You decided to make it!" Pakku walks right past her. "What, aren't you going to fight me?"

He doesn't even turn. "Go back to the healing hut with the other women where you belong. You have no place here." He keeps walking. Katara's fuming. She creates a water whip and snaps it against his neck. Maybe now he'll pay some attention. It works. "Fine, you want to learn how to fight so badly, watch closely!" Pakku pulls all the water from pools at the sides of the courtyard and creates long arms from it. Katara runs at him, calling water to her hands but a wave smashes into her chest. He spins the water around himself and Katara, forcing her off balance as he tightens the circle, the water spinning rapidly.

Pakku laughs, "Don't worry, I'm not going to hurt you."

Something about his voice, the way he says it, something reminds her of Chang. There's the same smugness and solid belief that no matter what he does she deserves it. She's scared and angry and she swings her arms out, countering Pakku's fierce circle. She rushes him with her water whip - still her best move - but he raises a ramp in front of her which she flips off of and lands on the stairs. She gets into a firm bending stance then freezes water around her feet. "You can't knock me down!" Katara doesn't hear the cheering behind her especially that of the little girls who have gathered, she's too focused on the man in front of her. A waves washes towards her and she snaps it in half. The ice around her feet did it's job. She jumps down from the stairs and runs towards Pakku. He creates a wall of ice that she busts through as she liquefies it and throws it back in his face. He washes her away into one of the pools. That was a mistake. She recovers and creates a pillar of ice in front of her. She slices thin sheets off and sends them flying. Pakku breaks each one except they keep coming faster and faster. He narrowly misses the last one, moving his head out of the way at the last moment. He pulls back and stares at the furious girl. She is bending the water around herself, a bastardized version of the octopus form and sends a tentacle sharply out. He deflects it and creates a wave which knocks her flat on her rear.

She's tired. Hair is in her face her breathing is heavy, and her arms ache. She won't let it end like this! Katara jumps back up into a bending stance. Ice forms around Pakku which he easily melts.

"Well, I'm impressed. You're an excellent water bender."

"But you still won't teach me will you?"

His face hardens, "No."

Katara cries out in tired frustration and bnds ice into a wave which Pakku avoids by creating a pillar of ice underneath himself. The bottom liquefies and he rides forward on it. Katara knocks him off but he jumps onto her water whip and slides forward as he freezes it into a ramp. He jumps off behind her and knocks her down before she can counter. A spiral of water forms in the air before crashing down around an exhausted Katara, freezing her in place. She fights against the shards of ice but the don't budge and there's not enough room to bend. There's not enough room to breathe. She shouts and struggles and the ice around her breaks and falls to the ground. Katara stands on wobbly feet.

Pakku sends another wave her way, knocking her flat. "This fight is over."

"No it's not! I'm not done with you!" She gets on her knees and then pushes herself up slowly though only makes it halfway before Pakku stops and crouches down.

His eyes widen, "This is my necklace."

Katara's eyes narrow sharply. "No it's not," she hisses, "Give it back!"

Pakku doesn't hear her. "I made this sixty years ago for the love of my life. It was for Kana."

Her eyebrows shoot up, "My Gran Gran was supposed to marry _you_?"

He looks at her, "I carved this necklace for your grandmother when we got engaged. I loved her so much. I thought we would have a long happy life together."

"But she didn't love you did she? It was an arranged marriage wasn't it?" Katara finds her footing and walks up to Pakku, her eyes cold. "She didn't like the stupid customs of your tribe and my Gran Gran wasn't about to let them run her life! That's why she left. It must have taken a lot of courage."

At those words Princess Yue who had been watching the fight with so many others begins to sob and runs off. Sokka hesitates for a moment before chasing after her, throwing one look back at his sister to make sure she's okay now.

Pakku looks at the young girl in front of him who looks so much like Kana he's amazed he didn't realize it sooner. "She loved me, I know that and I never could figure out why she left the night before our wedding. It sounds like her though. She never said anything but I could tell she hated our traditions." He sighs, "I'll teach you, but only for her sake."

Katara grins wildly, "Thank you!"

Pakku smiles faintly before looking at her sternly. "And don't ever say that the Fire Nation is better than us. I understand that you and the Avatar have fought against them, but if you want me to teach you don't ever say that again."

. . .

"Yue?" Sokka reaches out to the crying woman on the bridge.

"Please go away Sokka."

"No, not until you tell me what's going on. What's wrong?"

She sobs, "You wouldn't understand."

"Try me."

With a quick jerk Yue pulls her parka down to reveal a large engagement necklace with a huge carved stone. "I'm engaged."

Sokka slumps. "Oh. I guess that makes sense," he tries to laugh but it sounds strangled. "You're a princess and really I'm just a southern peasant. That makes sense." He turns to leave but Yue grabs his shoulder and acting on sheer impulse she brings her lips to his.

After a moment she pulls away, tears falling down her cheeks, and rests her forehead against his breathing a sigh of relief. "I already like you more than I'll ever love him. Thank you for that." She smiles at him before walking away, squeezing his hand as she squares her shoulders and schools her face to be calm. Sokka stares after her, not sure what to feel.

. . .

**Sorry about the time between updates, it will probably start getting a little further apart because the chapters are getting longer and more stuff has been going on with me lately. , thanks for your review. I realize that it was a bit extreme but considering that she is a young very attractive female on a ship full of men, several of whom we don't know their temperaments and personalities, rape would most likely happen. No matter how much I hate it, rape is part of the world especially I imagine in a society that has been taught that they are better than everyone else. I wasn't about to write a rape scene in so I wrote in a torture scene which not only showed Chang's reaction to Katara fighting back when she was captured but also created sympathy for her with the rest of the crew thus preventing any possible assaults in the future. I also wanted to write something that shows that even if you do something entirely within your rights - all she did was protect herself - people will take it personally and you're not responsible for their actions. It's not her fault that it happened, some people will try to hurt you no matter what and I wanted to show that. I'm not sure if I'm making sense about my reasoning to put it in but I just want people to know it's not the victim's fault. Assaulters, molesters, abusers in general will abuse no matter what. As for touching on her panic attacks I didn't avoid it because it wasn't relevant to the plot but because I know from experience that when there's a lot of stuff you're actually invested and involved in and you're working on something you don't panic because there's no space in your mind for it. Thank you so much for your comments, I don't mean to sound rude I'm sorry if it comes off that way, I just want to explain my thinking. I really really do appreciate your feedback! As for the last part about Zuko joining the Gaang in the North, my lips are sealed.**


	13. Chapter 13

They've been in the Northern Water Tribe for nearly a month. Aang and Katara train with Pakku. Katara's quickly mastering the fighting along with learning from Yugoda and helping Ming. While she may not be able to heal the surface scars she has been able to reduce the amount of scar tissue underneath the skin considerable. Yugoda has also taught her about flow of chakras though she supplements the training with her scroll and how to delve deep into the body to heal someone. There's more reading and memorizing of body parts than she expected. With Master Pakku she advances through the forms quickly, quicker than Aang, though for the first week Pakku had to keep correcting her stances due to learning from scrolls or learning during the heat of a battle or - he doesn't know it - learning from fire benders.

Sokka has been training with the warriors but he has a tendency to wander of in the direction of the engineering studios afterwards, that is if he's not with Yue. He strolls around the city with her whenever possible, always chaperoned, always careful to keep a few inches between them, always excited to see her smile when he does something goofy. They don't talk about it, he doesn't even know who her fiancé is, she hasn't said a word about him but every now and then on accident his shoulder will brush up against hers or their hands will touch for a moment and hover there neither wanting to move before she draws back. They talk about everything and nothing from the war to the city's infrastructure to what they like to do for fun to the shape of the clouds and the weather that day.

. . .

Zuko has been in hiding for about a month on Zhao's ship. He's careful to wear his helmet all the time and when he takes it off to sleep, sleep in the darkest corners of the privates' quarters. He eats in private, his head tucked low just in case. He doesn't talk to anyone except his uncle on rare occasions when they pass in the halls and no one else is around. His days are spent roaming the halls, he blends in with everyone else for the first time in his life and no one questions him, no one even notices that he's there most of the time, just one more soldier on a ship full of them. Occasionally he'll stop and look at the people around him. Dress code -complete with face masks - is enforced here so even if any of his old men are here, he doesn't recognize them. Sometimes a voice will sound familiar but it always stops before he gets close enough to be able to tell for sure. Uncle tells him that Jee, Yoro, and Asoko are on this ship.

Right now he sits in a corner of the mess hall, a hurriedly whispered conversation taking place nearby. They either don't notice him, don't think he can hear them or just flat out don't care and he catches a few words and phrases. "…No, I heard something else…..yeah I heard about that too…..someone went to the Western Air Temple." Zuko's ears perk up, none of the voices are familiar, that means the story really is spreading! Hope flares in his chest."It isn't a conspiracy theory this time guys….no I'm serious…yeah, they've been lying to us this whole time…"A commander walks in and the conversation cuts off before quickly and loudly turning to the weather. Zuko gets up and walks out with his bowl of eel rice.

He walks along the hallways, going nowhere in particular to eat. He can't actually do any jobs around the ship or else people might get to familiar with him and his privacy would be gone. His head is down, looking at his feet and the grains of rice when the bowl is knocked out of his hands and to the ground along with him getting jostled out of the way. "Hey! Watch where you're going!"

The other masked soldier hurriedly picks up the bowl. "I'm sorry I wasn't looking. Admiral Ass has me running all around the ship, I didn't even see you." The man's voice is vaguely familiar. He hands the bowl and some of the spilled rice to Zuko. "You okay?"

Zuko brushes him off, "I'm fine," and begins to walk off.

"Hey, wait a minute." The soldier grabs his arm. "I didn't catch your name."

"Why would you need it?"

The soldier pulls down his mask, Asoko's sharp features are revealed. "Okay Prince Zuko, what are you doing here?"

Zuko hisses and pulls Asoko into a nearby room, thankfully it's empty of people though it is packed with brooms. "How did you know it was me?"

Asoko laughs, "I served under you for two years, I know your voice."

Zuko removes the mask and pinches his nose in frustration. "Don't tell anyone I'm here, Zhao thinks I'm dead."

"Yeah I heard that your ship got blown up, what happened."

"Zhao happened."

"That explains it. So what's the plan now? How are you going to get back to the Fire Nation and stop the war?"

Zuko chokes, "What? How did you know about that?"

"Lieutenant Jee told me," He shrugs. "We've been working on spreading the story, people are beginning to doubt this war even more."

"Good. Right now I need to focus on getting to the North Pole so I can talk with the Avatar."

"We're headed there. We'll be there tomorrow afternoon."

"I know but I need to get there before the bulk of the invasion force gets there."

Asoko nods in agreement, "You could use one of the patrol ships. Tomorrow morning we should be close enough that you can get there on one."

. . .

Katara sits on the floor, Ming's legs in front of her and the healing water wrapped around them. It's nearly evening and she's exhausted from an extended lesson this morning that stretched into the afternoon but the healing session seems to be helping both of them. Conversation is easy between the two women and it's been weeks since Yugoda had to come with Katara. "So, hows bending training going?"

Katara grins, "I kicked ass today and I'm controlling even larger waves!"

"Good for you," Ming smiles at her.

Katara pauses, "You don't have to answer this but I was wondering something. Is it normal to uh right before your monthly time feel everything? I mean, everything from the waterfalls to a person's sweat, it's overwhelming!"

Ming chuckles, "Yeah it is. All female water benders cycle with the moon, we're most fertile during a full moon it pulls at us and we feel everything around us. I'm not sure why, Yugoda would probably know but yeah it's normal. I once brought down a sea serpent all on my own during the full moon, it was awesome!"

"Really, that's incredible!"

"It was. That's about the time that ships started really looking to hire me, even up here." Ming laughs at the memory before glancing down at her legs. "It cost me a lot, to do what I love but I'll never stop sailing. If I didn't do it, I don't know who I'd be. So how about you, what did you do that cost you so much?"

Katara tenses, she can't talk about it. "Wrong place, wrong time."

"The Fire Nation?"

"I guess so but they're not all responsible for what he did."

Ming's hand rests on her shoulder, gently squeezing. "Not a lot of people can differentiate between one person and their people, I'm impressed."

The healing stops and Katara hugs her knees to her chest. "They're not bad people. We can't hate them all just because of a few bad ones and a bunch of people who are just following orders and trying to protect their families."

"Thank you. You have no idea how different things would be if everyone thought like that."

"How did your family do it?"

Ming sighs, "They didn't. We moved around a lot but eventually someone killed them because they were different, 'unnatural'."

Katara gasps, "I'm so sorry!"

"Don't worry about it, it was a long time ago."

. . .

Iroh stands in the war room with Admiral Zhao - Admiral Ass as his men have taken to calling him though he doesn't know it. "Just think, centuries from now people will study the great Admiral Zhao who destroyed the last of the Water Tribe barbarians!" Zhao is gloating, Iroh detests the man and the gloating isn't helping.

"Be careful what you wish for Admiral. History is not always kind to its subjects."

Zhao laughs cruelly, "Oh don't worry. This will be nothing like your legendary defeat at Ba Sing Se, nothing could go as poorly as that." It's becoming easier and easier to see why Ozai promoted this man so quickly.

Iroh forces out a smile. "I hope not, for your sake." He will not strangle, slam, or maim the Admiral. He has to keep telling himself that.

. . .

Jee, Asoko, and Yoro stand against the wall having already given their advice for the upcoming venture. General Iroh stands next to Prince Zuko, fretting. "Have you thought this through, Nephew?"

"Yes Uncle, I'll be fine."

"Be careful. You catch more bees with honey than you do with vinegar."

"Uncle, I don't need a proverb right now." Zuko's voice lacks the usual edge.

"I know, I just want you to know how much I care about you. Ever since I lost Lu Ten -"

"You don't have to say it." Each of the men standing in the background avert their eyes from this private family moment.

Uncle continues, "I think of you as my own son."

Zuko nods, blinking back tears. "I know Uncle. We'll meet again."

Iroh rushes forward, enveloping his nephew in a tight hug. "I know we will, my nephew." Zuko leaves quickly after that, trying to hold back the tears until he's far away. Iroh watches him sail off, fear clutching his old heart. This isn't the first time a son of his has gone off into the morning mist, he just hopes that this time will be different.

Eventually Iroh turns around and closes the hatch before looking at the three men in front of him. He's no longer the odd old man they're used to seeing but instead he carries himself like the general he once was. "We have to stop Zhao. He intends to completely wipe out the Northern Water Tribe and that cannot happen. You all know that this war is unjust and that they have just as much of a right to live as we do. We got Prince Zuko to the North Pole, now we have to try and stop the attack as much as we can. It's now or never. Jee, give your orders late, try to create chaos. Asoko, Zhao has you running around the ship and giving messages to the other ones. I want you to try and cripple the war machines, as many as you can. Yoro, you need to get people drunk, asleep, sick, anything you can think of that will take people out without hurting them. We only have a few hours before the first wave attacks, work swiftly. May Agni protect you all."

. . .

Aang lounges about on the snow playing with Momo while Katara trains. He's supposed to be training but watching Momo chase his tail is just so much more fun, besides he's the Avatar he'll figure it all out. Water bending isn't that hard. "Pupil Aang!" Master Pakku's harsh voice cuts through Aang's fun.

"Yes?"

"Care to step into the sparring circle with Katara? Since you've found time to play with house pets, obviously you've already mastered water bending."

"I wouldn't say mastered, but check this out!" Aang spins around quickly piling snow onto himself. After a moment he stops and a snowman stands in his place. Momo doesn't appreciate it and knocks Aang over, the snowman falling apart. Pakku and Katara don't appreciate it either. Pakku smacks Momo smartly on the rear with a water whip before rounding on Aang, a large wave washing the Avatar onto the stairs.

. . .

Sokka stands beside Yue. Today they're walking around the palace, much farther apart from each other than usual though there's no chaperone this time. "So, there are no palaces in the South Pole?"

"Nope," he laughs. "I pretty much grew up on an ice block. Our wall was about fifteen feet tall and it doubled as the sledding hill sometimes. Our houses, well they weren't anything like the ones here so yeah, definitely no palaces."

"But your father was the chief, didn't you have something special because of that?"

"Why would we? I mean, we had a nice polar fox pelt for our door but that's only because my dad caught it. Katara was the only bender and she sucked and building anything large would have taken too long."

She nods, "I guess that makes sense. Our tribes are completely different, I wish I could see yours."

Sokka stops walking. "You could."

Yue stops too, "What?"

"You could come away with me. You'd be able to make your own decisions, do whatever you'd like, go wherever you'd like, marry whoever you'd like."

"No, I can't!"

"What's stopping you?"

"I'm engaged, I care about my people, I have to stay for them."

"So what you can grow old with a man you don't like, having no real say in what happens to the people you care about so much! Whether you stay or not won't matter as far as taking care of them because some guy is going to come and do the job you're meant to do whether you're here or not!"

"I have my duties, to my father to my tribe!"

"You aren't marrying your duties and your duties aren't the ones that will have to live out the rest of their life stuck somewhere that suffocates them!"

Tears spring to her eyes and she's aware of the people watching them. "I can't see you anymore Sokka. I have to do this, goodbye!" She runs off, faster than a lady is supposed to but not nearly fast enough for her liking. Sokka stands there with his heart on the floor before stomping out of the palace.

He makes it to the stairs outside before stopping. It's snowing. The only problem is that it's snowing black. Sokka's eyes widen and his fight with Yue slips to the background of his mind. "Soot," he mutters before bounding back into the palace.

. . .

Katara's bending out of the canal, creating little water penguins for the kids to chase. She's taking a break from the rigorous schedule of the past few weeks. As she bends the water gets darker. She's speechless and for a second thrown back years to the Southern Water Tribe when black snow fell.

. . .

Aang's rolling around in the snow making a snow angel. Momo's chasing after snowflakes but gags at a darker one. Aang opens his eyes to a dark cloud overhead.

. . .

Ming walks out the door, a satchel over one shoulder ready to go fishing. She stops and swears before going back inside to get changed into leather armor.

. . .

Chief Arnook stands on the platform outside of the palace Yue and Pakku behind him, addressing the large crowd that has gathered there in fear. Honestly, he's scared too. "The day we've feared for so long is here. The Fire Nation is on our doorstep. It is with great sadness that I call my family here, knowing well that some of the faces" - many of the faces - "are about to vanish from our tribe, but they will never vanish from our hearts." If there's anyone left to remember them. "Now, as we approach the battle for our survival I call upon the Great Spirits! Spirit of the Ocean, Spirit of the Moon, be with us!" He pauses in prayer before continuing. "I need volunteers for a dangerous mission. We need to take out their admiral and take out as many of the ships as we can."

Sokka stands, he's the first volunteer. Katara grabs his sleeve to pull him back down but he walks on. Other men, young and old join him at the front of the room. Yue looks at him, holding back tears and turns away from him. "Be warned, many of you will not return. Come forward to receive my mark if you are willing." Sokka is second in line. On his turn he approaches Chief Arnook and gets three blood red lines drawn on his forehead. He looks at Yue who's now weeping silently. She looks back and for a moment it's just them. She doesn't want him to go but he turns to face the crowd, steeling himself for the mission. Yue sees the man she's supposed to marry, also in line. She hates herself for it but for one second she prays that he won't return.

. . .

Aang stands on the battlements looking out over the oncoming ships. "I wasn't there when the Fire Nation attacked my people. I'm gonna make a difference this time. Soldiers stand atop the wall, all readying for the oncoming storm.

. . .

**Short chapter I know but you've got to love cliffhangers.**


	14. Chapter 14

A fireball slams into the city wall, knocking several men off the battlement. Aang leaps onto Appa and they zoom towards the Fire Nation ship headed their way. Katara bends chunks of ice off of people. One fireball and already there are wounded. One man landed badly and now has a sprained ankle. She kneels down and heals him quickly before moving onto the next one. Two more fireballs fly overhead. One crashes into the canal but the other melts a house. Children run screaming away from it. The next one she and four other benders are ready for. "Put it into the canal!" She roars, taking charge since Pakku isn't here to. An old bender who doesn't want to take orders from a woman opens his mouth to retort but the fireball is already headed towards them. She reaches up with the water and they all follow suit to drag the flaming ball into the water.

. . .

Arnook stands in front of the warriors who signed up for the mission. "Men, you'll be infiltrating the Fire Nation Navy. That means you'll all need one of these uniforms." A haughty young man walks in wearing something that resembles a navy uniform. The helmet is outdated and the shoulder spikes are well, spikes. Sokka snorts, the man looks absolutely ridiculous.

"What's your problem?" The man sneers.

Sokka continues laughing, "Fire Navy uniforms don't look like that."

"Of course they do! These are from real Fire Nation soldiers numbskull!"

"When," Sokka retorts, "A hundred years ago?"

Chief Arnook replies instead of the young man, "Eighty-five actually."

Sokka smacks his head with his palm, "The new uniforms are more streamlined, they don't wear shoulder spikes anymore." He flicks the spike and it bounces.

"Such bold talk for a new recruit," The obnoxious guy leans forward threateningly, "How do we know we can trust him?"

"Sokka is from our sister tribe, he came here with the Avatar. He is a capable warrior and I value his input." Sokka has to resist the urge to stick out his tongue. "Now, all uniform issues aside, our first objective is to identify their commanding officer."

"His name's Zhao, big side burns, even bigger temper."

Arnook is shocked but grateful for Sokka's knowledge. "Sokka, I want you to tell everything you know to Hahn, he is leading the mission. Hanh, show Sokka your respect, I expect nothing less from my future son-in-law."

Sokka freezes. This overbearing, rude, greasy-haired jerk is the man Yue never talks about! "Princess Yue is marrying you?"

"Yeah," Hahn shrugs, "What of it?"

"Nothing, just congratulations." He really wants to punch the bastard but no, he'll behave. Yue would want him to, besides she's made her choice. What's the use of fighting now? "Okay, so we need to get onto Zhao's ship?"

"Duh, weren't you just listening?"

Sokka glares at Hahn. He doesn't want to bring it up, he doesn't know how bad the outcome will be but the Water Tribe is facing extinction, he has to do this. "Someone go get my sister. She'll be able to help the most."

. . .

Katara stands by a table with large rolls of blank paper and ink on it. Arnook and Hahn are fuming and most of the men look uncomfortable. Sokka stands beside her protectively. "I'm not listening to what a woman has to say about this! What could she possibly know of war Chief Arnook?"

"Excuse me?" Katara demands, hands on her hips.

"You heard me, women have no place here."

"I have to agree with Hahn on this," Arnook states.

"No, my sister is - "

"I've got this Sokka." She gets right in Hahn's face. "I am the only one here with a working knowledge of Fire Nation ships, if you want to go out there, get lost in the twists and turns of the ship, and end up missing all of the action _and _not do your job, possibly becoming responsible for the extermination of our culture, go right ahead," she hisses. Hahn swallows hard but doesn't say anything. "Good. Now shut up and listen to me." She takes a brush and begins to draw a rough blue print of Zuko's ship. "This isn't the exact ship you'll be on, Zhao's is much larger but I'd imagine the layouts are the same. There's a small hatch around here where you can get onboard. Because of your uh uniforms - if that's really what you want to call them," she mutters, "You'll want to move quickly. The main stairs are in the center of the ship and lead from the brig to the navigation room at the top. Zhao most likely will be in there and you can take him out." She pauses before continuing, deciding it's worth it to say. "If you happen to run across a young man with a large scar over his left eye or an old, short, fat man with grey hair don't attack! They hate Zhao as much as you do and it's possible that they'll help."

Hahn scoffs, "Why would they help us? They're Fire Nation, they're all scum."

Katara smacks him across the mouth without a second thought. "You need my help, this is part of it. Zhao fucked them over, they might help you."

"How dare you smack me!" Hahn raises his arm. It's almost the full moon and she can feel every bead of sweat in the room, every particle of ice under the pelts and even more deeply, almost muted she can feel blood pumping through veins. She pulls the sweat off of the men around her and curls it around his wrists. Her eyes slit.

"Don't you ever try to hit me. I smacked you because you're a pompous ass who was being rude. You tried to hit me because of your own pride." She wrenches his arms down with her watery grip before turning back to the table and the other men and smiling sweetly. "Now, does everyone understand how to get to the navigation room?" They all nod mutely and Sokka smiles proudly, that's his little sister.

The warriors walk off, Hahn looking especially sour. Chief Arnook stops Katara as she turns to leave. "How do you know all of this? How do you know their ships so well?" He has an idea, but no, this little girl couldn't have survived on a Fire Nation ship.

She looks at him, steel in her eyes and stance. "I don't think it matters how I know, just that I do."

. . .

Iroh looks over the banister at the melting wall of the Northern Water Tribe, his heart heavy. It was never supposed to be like this. At least his men are doing their jobs. Ten ships have reported mechanical failures in the engine rooms, Asoko's doing most likely. It seems as though he's telling everyone that served under Zuko about what's going on since fifteen more ships have had 'unexplainable malfunctions' of their catapults and pitch containers. Jee's men are all scrambling around the ship, showing up late or doing things in the wrong order. A surprising number of soldiers have also suddenly come down with what appears to be the flu and can't get out of bed. Still though, it's not enough to stop Zhao. Not even the Avatar taking out a dozen ships stops Zhao. Iroh sighs, "It's almost twilight, Admiral. I suggest you fall back. A lot of our men are sick and can't fight and our machines are breaking. Add to that water benders draw their power from the moon and we don't stand a chance against them."

Zhao scoffs. "I won't give up as easily as you do General Iroh. I already have a plan to take care of the moon situation."

"Our men can't fight though."

"We don't need them to fight, all they need to do is be fodder while we do the real work." A nearby soldier overhears and blanches. It doesn't take long before the whole ship knows. "For now though, we'll wait till daybreak."

. . .

Hahn struts around the room, his embarrassment and anger from Katara's slap forgotten. "You know Sokka, I've courted a lot of girls but Yue's the finest, plus she comes with the most perks."

"Perks! What the hell does that mean?"

Hahn shrugs, "Yue's nice and all but the points I'll get with the chief are even better."

"Yue's wasted on a self-absorbed weasel like you!" Sokka shouts.

"What do you care? You're just a simpleton from the South Pole. You couldn't possibly understand the political complexities of our lives." He sneers, "I've seen you following her around. Just remember she's mine."

"You're a soulless jerk!" Sokka lunges and lands a punch on Hahn before Chief Arnook walks in and quickly separates the two boys. "Fuck you Hahn, fuck you!"

"That's enough Sokka, you're off the mission!" Arnook roars.

Hahn wipes blood from his mouth and stands, tugging his armor back into place. "All right men, let's go take down this Admiral Jo." All the soldiers except Sokka walk out, some casting him empathetic looks.

"It's Admiral Zhao, dumbass," Sokka mutters and Chief Arnook gives him a look.

"What was that about?"

"Chief Arnook, that guy cannot marry Yue! He's rude, mean, and he thinks Yue is just a thing to get him where he wants to go!"

Arnook sighs, "There's a war going on. I don't have time to deal with this right now." Honestly though he doesn't like Hahn anymore than Sokka does but it's far too late for him to do anything about it. "I took you off the mission for a reason."

"Why so I could scrub the barracks?"

"No, I need you to guard my daughter."

. . .

Zuko stumbles across a pack of turtle seals near the city, barking at him as he comes near. As he gets closer they waddle away, slipping into a large hole in the ice. More and more slide into the water but none come up. Ten seconds, thirty seconds, a minute, two minutes, no turtle seals resurface. The walls around the city are thick and patrolled even as the occasional fireball flies overhead. This is his best chance. They have to be coming up for air somewhere. He crouches beside the hole, bracing himself. "I can do this, I can do this." He takes one last deep breath before plunging into the freezing depths.

. . .

Yue opens a small ornate door. "This is the most spiritual place in the entire North Pole, do you think it will really help?"

Aang and Katara gasp in surprise. The usual ice of the Northern Water Tribe is replaced with lush green foliage and blooming flowers twisting around a torii arch built behind a shallow pool. Two elegant koi fish circle each other in the dark water. "This is beautiful Yue."

"Yeah, it really is. It's the best place to try and get to the Spirit World."

Aang nods and bounds over the small bridge to the pond and rubs his hands over the grass there. "I never thought I'd miss grass so much."

"How is it so warm here?" Katara pulls her parka over her head and sighs happily.

Yue laughs lightly, "It's the center of all the spiritual energy in our land."

"Yeah," Aang stares at the fish "You're right it really is spiritual here." He crosses his legs and closes his eyes. Yue and Katara exchange glances, hoping it works before Aang's arrows begin to glow and they breathe a sigh of relief.

"Is he okay?"

"He's just crossing into the Spirit World. He'll be fine as long as we don't move his body, that's his way to get back to the physical world."

"Perhaps we should get some help?"

"No," Katara sits down, getting ready for a long wait, "I'm his friend. I'm perfectly capable of protecting him."

"Okay. Do you need my help with anything?"

"No, I'm good but thanks anyway."

. . .

Zuko slams into an ice wall at the top of a reservoir. No! It can't end like this, he doesn't have enough breath left to make it back to where the turtle seals are. His fists slam against the ice but it doesn't crack. Again he hits it to no avail. He has enough energy left to heat up his hands and slowly but surely the ice melts. His oxygen is running out! Just in time a hole opens up and he crawls through, panting. He's inside some kind of tunnel but it's inside the city. Now he just has to find the Avatar.

. . .

Sokka approaches Yue cautiously. "Hey?"

"Hello, Sokka."

"Um,"

"What do you want? Haven't you done enough?"

"I'm sorry. Chief Arnook wants me to guard you while the city is under siege."

She looks at him sadly. "Well then, bodyguard, where to now?"

"Let's go back to the palace," He suggests. She follows and they end up sitting awkwardly together in one of the many hallways.

. . .

"Katara?" His voice is raspy from the cold and he's still trying to regulate his internal fire.

She turns around and gasps. His steps falter, her eyes are dancing with a thousand emotions. "Zuko! Why are you here?"

"Did you get my letter?"

"Yeah but there was no way to send you a reply. Did you really go to the Western Air Temple?"

He nods, "So what now? Is the Avatar coming with me?"

"Well," She rubs the back of her head, "I actually didn't tell him."

"What?"

"There was no way to reach you and he had enough on his plate without worrying about that too."

"You still should have told him!"

"No! How could I know we could trust you?"

Zuko groans, "You just - ugh!"

She raises an eyebrow, "Exactly. So now what? You gonna try and capture Aang or wait until he comes back from the Spirit World and talk to him?"

"Hmpf," He plops down onto the ground.

"Good choice," Katara sits next to him, keeping an eye on both the prince and the Avatar. She picks at the grass, "Zuko?"

"Yeah?"

She changes her question at the last moment, "How's your back?"

"It's fine."

Another strained pause. "So, how'd you get in here?"

Zuko snorts, "I'm good at sneaking into places."

"No, really."

"I got a boat from one of Zhao's ships and then swam the rest of the way."

Katara shivers without thinking about it, "You swam! You must be freezing!" Her hands jump to his covered arms and for the first time ever he's not burning hot. She calls healing water to her hands and runs over him quickly, checking for anything out of the ordinary. There are a few minor cuts but there's no way she knows to raise his internal temperature.

He eventually grabs her wrist, "I'm fine."

"You're still cold."

"It's still night. Once the sun rises I'll be okay. You rise with the moon, I rise with the sun just give me some time."

This time the silence isn't so awkward. "Are you really here to help this time?"

His jaw clenches, "Yeah. I need to restore my nation's honor. Everything we've been taught, everything they told me since I was little was a lie. There was no Air Nomad Army, there was just Fire Nation cruelty. They weren't trying to destroy us, we just wiped them out for the hell of it." His head sinks into his hands and Katara touches his arm lightly.

"You're doing the right thing."

"I hope so." He shakes his head, trying to forcibly change his train of thought. "Did you find your brother and the Avatar alright?"

The water bender laughs, "Yeah I did, thanks for the map by the way." Zuko shrugs and mumbles something about not mentioning it. Her voice grows serious, "Why did you let me go?"

He looks at her, her wide hopeful serious eyes, and remembers the countless nights they'd stay up talking and arguing and remembers how bad her nightmares are and how because of her his crew trusted and maybe even began to like him. His mouth opens to reply, to say anything but a gust of air knocks him flat. He jumps to his feet, fire at the ready.

"What is he doing here!" Aang screeches.

. . .

The palace shakes, Yue looks around shocked. "What was that?"

"I don't know!" Sokka scrambles to his feet.

Yue blanches, "I think it was from the Spirit Oasis!" Without even waiting for Sokka she's off, racing towards it.

Sokka runs after her, "What's the Spirit Oasis?"

"It's where I left Aang and Katara," She calls over her shoulder and Sokka speeds up considerably. They sprint through the halls and deeper into the palace. Yue reaches for the door but Sokka yanks it open first. Yue inhales sharply, "There was no one else here when I left them."

Now however three people stand in the garden. Aang has his staff pointed angrily at Zuko who is raising his hands trying to be peaceful even though he's poised to fight. Katara stands in between the two, water whips at the ready. Sokka sees the prince and lunges, roaring incoherently. The punches he landed on Hahn earlier are nothing compared to this. Zuko dodges and flips him over his shoulder but Sokka grabs hold of Zuko's clothes and drags him down. Sokka punches him right in the nose, then the cheek, the next punch lands on a wrist and Zuko swings his arm up to elbow Sokka in the face. Zuko twists is legs to get Sokka off but Sokka's knee lands squarely between his legs. Zuko yelps. Water wraps around Sokka and drags him off. Katara's other hand is busy keeping Aang restrained. "Enough! You are all behaving like children!" Katara shouts above everyone else.

"He shouldn't be here, he's just going to try and capture me again!"

"No he's not!"

"Well he might try to take you away from me!"

"Shut up Aang. Yue, keep my brother back. I'm going to let both of you go and I don't want _any_ bad behavior!" Aang's nostrils flare and he pouts. Yue holds Sokka's shoulders as he glares daggers at the prince still on the ground, trying to keep some shred of dignity though it's mostly gone from the moaning and being curled up in fetal position. He's barely managing to uncurl as Katara kneels down beside him. "Here, let me help." Zuko stiffens but struggles into an upright position, sincerely hoping she doesn't realize he got hit in the crotch. Her hand lays on his bruised cheek, not the scarred one, and he relaxes slightly under her touch. It's much easier than it was before, she's gotten so much better and quickly he's healed. "Did he get you anywhere else?"

"Nope," Zuko chokes out.

Katara looks him over but shrugs before rounding on her brother, her hands on her hips. "What the hell was that about?"

"That jerk kidnaps you then has the audacity to show his smug ass face here!"

"Yeah," Aang pipes up, "Why are you trusting him! We need to just kick his butt!"

"No! No one is kicking anyone's butt!"

Zuko begins to say something as he gets to his feet but Sokka cuts him off, "Katara, why is he here?"

"He's going to help us."

Sokka locks eyes with his baby sister. "Can we trust him?" She nods and Sokka trusts her. He may not trust the fire bender, but he trusts his little sister and her judgement. Sokka looks over at the prince standing nervously, glancing at him and Aang. "Well, if Katara says you're okay then I'll trust you for now. Don't give me another reason not to." Sokka removes Yue's hands from his shoulders, holding for perhaps a moment too long.

"What!" Aang shouts, "How can you just be okay with him? He's evil, and mean, and he took Katara away from us. Do you not remember that? Do you remember-"

"Katara's the one that has the most right to hate him but she trusts him. I'll trust her judgement. Besides, she says he took care of her on the ship, that's enough for me." Aang looks from Katara to Sokka, blatantly ignoring Zuko, hoping to find a crack in one of their decisions. Finding none he slumps and mumbles angrily.

"So, welcome to the Northern Water Tribe, may I ask who you are?" Yue, always courteous, asks.

. . .

The morning dawns bright and chilly. Great rocks stand at the ready but few are firing. Overnight a large chunk of the ships have started having 'engine troubles' and soldiers are coming down with the 'flu'. Zhao is fuming but still trying to attack. All working ships have sailed to the front and are slinging fireballs at the great outer wall. Iroh stands by the railing outside the navigation room, looking out at the Northern Water Tribe smiling slightly to himself. His tea is warm and from what Jee says someone overheard Zhao's comment yesterday about the troops just being fodder, needless to say they aren't happy about that and most of the engine troubles have stemmed from that. Everyone knows that the full moon is tonight and no one really wants to fight water benders at that time of the month. Zhao bursts through the door to join Iroh and the old general's smile falters.

"These men are all buffoons! Only eleven of my hundred ships is fully functional!"

"Calm down Admiral Zhao, I'm sure it will all work out for the best."

"Yes it will, I'm going to destroy the moon spirit!" Zhao grins and stares over the water hatefully. This is his ticket to fame but the idiots on the other ships are screwing everything up. The door opens behind him, he pays it no notice but Iroh's eyebrows shoot into his hairline. A very odd soldier stands dressed in an old Navy uniform, complete with shoulder spikes that were old even during Iroh's time. "Admiral Cho!" Zhao finally turns around as the soldier removes his helmet and tosses it aside. Water tribe blue eyes stand out, "It's time to meet your fate!" The boy lunges at Zhao with a spear but Zhao easily tosses him over the railing. He lands with a sickening crack on the deck below them and doesn't move.

"How did he get on board? I'll need to go reprimand the security here!" Zhao moves to go inside but another soldier - his face covered - comes outside and bows. "What do you want?" Zhao snaps. The soldier mumbles something. "What?" Zhao moves closer, "If you have something to say, say it." The soldier coughs to clear his throat and another man opens the door, Zhao looks up at the newcomer. The first soldier lunges and before the admiral can react a dagger is buried in Zhao's neck. His eyes bug out and his hands fly to the knife still in his throat. He yanks it out but blood bubbles up and spurts onto Iroh and the nearby soldier. "Help me," Zhao chokes, blood washing down into his lungs. He tries to stop the bleeding but after another gasp he collapses. Iroh wasn't expecting this, but it all works out for the best. Zhao continues to try to breath but instead is suffocating on his own blood, it pools around him, it's so hard to move, he can't breath. His vision is going blurry. He'll kill that bastard that did this to him! The last thing he hears is Iroh, "Make sure he's dead then dump him overboard. I am going to go get the fleet to pull back. Also, I'm sure there are more would-be assassins on board, bring them to the the deck after Zhao has been disposed off. Get the Water Tribe boy's body looking presentable please."

. . .

Shouts of joy can be heard throughout the city. Someone comes up to Princess Yue, grinning, "The Fire Nation has stopped! We did it!" They run off before anyone can ask anything. The group is heading out to the main wall, Zuko is keeping his head down and is now clad in a blue parka, the hood pulled low. Yue finally spots her father and he waves her over excitedly. "They've stopped firing and they're pulling back, Hahn must have done it!"

"That's fantastic, Father!" Everyone breathes a sigh of relief, they're safe. Someone beside large mounted binoculars starts shouting and they follow Chief Arnook over to him.

"There's someone coming, they look like our men, they're in a Fire Nation boat though. What do we do, Sir?" Arnook grabs the binoculars to see. Sure enough Water Tribe soldiers stand waving on a boat headed in their direction.

"Let them come."

Soon the ship docks and the men disembark. People crowd around them. "What happened?" The chief questions.

"You won't believe it, Sir."

Aang zooms forward, "How did you guys do it!"

The soldier shrugs, "You won't believe what happened."

"Where's Hahn?"

The man's shoulders droop, "He didn't make it."

Chief Arnook frowns, but secretly he's a little thankful. The future of his tribe is now safe from an entirely different kind of threat too. Yue tries to look sad, but she's just relieved. Sokka doesn't even try. "Okay, so how'd you do it then? Did Hahn kill Zhao or what?"

"Hahn tried to kill him but it didn't work. There was a mutiny and the commander was killed. An old, fat man with grey hair - just like how the girl described - talked to us. He wanted us to tell you that things are going to be different now. He let us go as a good faith gesture, to show you he means well." Katara discreetly nudges Zuko, smiling at him. "He also had a weird request. He said his nephew should already be here and if he is, the old guy'd like to talk with him. He said to give him some kind of signal that he could bring a small ship over if it was okay."

"What does he mean his nephew?" Arnook asks but Sokka, Aang, and Yue are all already looking at Zuko.

"Um," For the first time the chief notices that there's another person with the Avatar's group.

"Yes?"

"He means me." Zuko pulls his hood back to reveal his scar and the golden eyes. Gasps ripple through the crowd and various water benders pull their element to them as warriors reach for knives and mothers clutch their children a little closer. Zuko swallows nervously and it takes all of his self control to not start bending.

"What is the meaning of this!"

"I came to join the Avatar."

"Why would we believe you?" Arnook spits.

"It's the truth." He sighs, he'll have to tell this entire crowd about the Western Air Temple for them to believe him and he'd better start talking fast. "I'm Prince Zuko, my uncle, some of my crew, and myself went to the Western Air Temple after Katara here made me question some of the things I was taught growing up. We went there and didn't find any army or weapons except Fire Nation stuff and I realized that everything I'd been taught was a lie. The Fire Nation isn't superior to anyone and I saw the destruction we caused. I want to end that and so does my Uncle."

Arnook looks the boy over as he holds his breath and Katara's feeling out for the water around her, just in case. Eventually Arnook speaks, "Your uncle returned our men to us unharmed except for one. We will let you stay in the city if the Avatar will vouch for you." Aang wants so badly to say no, to say throw him out into the snow but Katara - the new sometimes scary Katara who screams in her sleep- would hate him for that and so he nods. "Okay, you may stay. But," Arnook's eyes narrow, "If anything bad happens you'll go and you'll be guarded night and day."

Zuko nods in understanding. "About my Uncle?"

Arnook looks at someone still on the wall, "Go blow the horn. We will meet this boy's uncle here to discuss peace. If a large ship comes, destroy it. Everyone else, get this place looking nice, let the Fire Nation be intimidated by us!" There are murmurs of disagreement but everyone sets to work cleaning up rubble. Water benders recreate walls and decorations. Aang goes off to pout. Sokka stays glued to Yue's side as she walks around checking to make sure everyone is okay and to hear what they have to say. Katara stays beside an awkward Zuko, standing beside the canal getting glares cast his way. "Come on, let's go somewhere else to wait for him." She takes him by the elbow and begins to steer him towards the palace when someone stops them.

"He's not supposed to go anywhere without a guard." Katara whirls around and Zuko freezes, entirely unsure of himself here in the north. His jaw drops.

"Ming! I was wondering if you were alright."

Ming grins and looks the prince over, "So?"

"You're Fire Nation!"

Ming easily bends a stream of water and laughs at his expression. "Nope but my dad was. Anyhow, I volunteered to guard you. I'm guessing he's why you wanted to learn how to heal scars, huh?" Katara blushes bright red and stares at her feet. Zuko turns away, ashamed of his face. A horn blasts suddenly through the air, within seconds a flame rises from the lead ship. Both sides simply hope they understand each other. "So kids, where to?"

"I'm not a kid," Zuko retorts.

"Okay, okay. Where are we going anyway?"

Katara's stomach growls in response, "How about breakfast?" Zuko licks his lips, he hadn't even realized how hungry he was until she said that. They walk quickly towards the palace, intent on getting food before coming back down to meet Iroh. Katara stops and points things out to him here and there, the carvings around a waterfall, the swoop of an arc, the way the sun glints off a piece of ice. Zuko nods at all of them though he's composing escape plans in his head just in case.

The palace leaves him momentarily speechless. "It's all ice?"

"Yeah."

"That's terrifying."

Katara nudges him, "Just don't get angry in here and you're good." She giggles. "I actually broke some of the vases earlier when I had a fight with the chief and Master Pakku."

"What'd they do to deserve that?" They're in front of a large cooking pot and they ladle spoonfuls of soup into bowls.

"They wouldn't let me learn to fight because I'm a girl. I fixed that problem though." They find somewhere away from the angry glances to sit.

"You're joking."

"Nope." Katara digs in, immensely enjoying the taste. She's tired, she's hungry, and this is perfect.

Zuko doesn't seem to think so. After the first few swallows that ease his grumbling stomach he starts to actually taste his food. The meat is incredibly chewy, the soup itself is watery and he really doesn't want to know why it's that funny shade of green. He looks up to see the older woman Ming with the Fire Nation eyes watching him, her eyebrow quirked and a smirk on her face. "How's the food, your highness?"

Zuko forces a smile, "Fantastic." Another blast from the horn saves him from any more lies about it or trying to choke it down. Quickly they scurry down to the outer wall to watch General Iroh make his way into the Norther Water Tribe. He's guided through the locks the same way Appa was until his small grey boat comes to a forced halt in front of Chief Arnook. The soldiers that had come home from Zhao's ship stand behind their chief. Iroh looks up at the man and three other men step out of the cabin. Jee is among them though there are two officers that are unfamiliar to Zuko but they bear the marks of captains.

"It's an honor to be in your great city. I'm General Iroh, this is Captain Xi, Captain To-Sho, and Lieutenant Jee."

"I'm Chief Arnook. If your previous actions are any indictor then perhaps this meeting will go well."

"I sincerely - Nephew!" Iroh catches sight of Zuko and all thoughts of formalities are out the window. The old man scrambles out of the boat and pulls his nephew into a hug. The surrounding warriors grip their weapons tightly at the quick action but Arnook doesn't give the order, instead he just watches as tears roll down Iroh's face. "Oh Nephew I'm so glad you're okay! I was worried sick, are you hurt? Have you seen Miss Katara and the Avatar yet? Did you remember your Breath of Fire? How about your hood, I forgot to tell you to keep it up and cover your ears."

"I'm fine, Uncle!" Zuko is deeply embarrassed but stays in the hug a moment longer. Uncle eventually pulls back to examine his face, checking to make sure his ears are intact. Arnook watches the interaction curiously, this is the first time he's even heard of the Fire Nation being anything less than cruel and somehow it's a little harder to despise the old man after watching him fret over the boy.

Jee, Xi, and To-Sho are all looking around at the beautiful architecture, trying to look anywhere except at the intimate scene in front of them. They're doing their best to smile and look like nice people but Jee still has Zhao's blood under his nails and the two captains are praying to get out of this alive. They're all sick of the war though and so they're willing to give this a try. Arnook eventually clears his throat and Iroh realizes there are more people around thank just him and his nephew. He laughs, "Forgive me Chief Arnook, I was just so happy to see my nephew."

"It's understandable. However, the question of why he's here if you're intent on peace is valid."

Iroh shrugs, "Zhao wasn't intent on peace and Prince Zuko needed to get to the Avatar." Arnook nods. "We're here to try to usher in a new age of understanding. My brother, Fire Lord Ozai isn't aware of what's being done today and we do it without his support, but I feel that many soldiers will follow once a path has been opened up for them. We are all tired of the fighting and we wish it to be done."

"Then we are on the same page."

"Yes, I hope so. While I know peace is a long way off, perhaps for now we can simply agree not to kill each other and not to have our troops kill each other."

Arnook mulls it over for a moment, "My men will not attack unless yours do so first."

"Mine will not attack at all."

"Good." Arnook turns away from Iroh and towards the throngs of people waiting, "Yesterday we stood on the edge of war, a war we have tried so hard to stay out of. Today we are safe from it! Today the fight for peace begins!" The crowd roars and smiles abound. "We will have a feast to commemorate this day. I will ask the general to bring back a handful of troops to marvel at the glory of our city I ask that you be kind to them. We will welcome them and make sure they spread the tales of our generosity and kindness to their fellows. We have been safe from the Great War behind our walls and as of today we hope to be safe from it entirely." There's cheering. Arnook knows he's rushing things but the old man seems trustworthy and his troops were returned unharmed - except for Hahn but that was actually a blessing. He has to hope for better things and there are enough benders and fighters here to overwhelm any small force if necessary, especially with the full moon coming up this evening. However, he hopes it won't be necessary.

Iroh and the two captains - Jee returned to bring back five willing men - are led directly up to the palace under a heavy 'escort' really they're guards but for the sake of appearing polite they're not being guarded, they're being escorted. The city of ice leaves them in wonder, and many benders smirk openly at the awe on their faces. No one throws anything at them, that's good though many women usher their children inside before they come by. Zuko doesn't leave Iroh's side and Katara doesn't leave Zuko's. Of course that means Sokka, Aang, and even Yue are accompanying the Fire Nation men and people are a little less nervous once they see that.

Once they're in the palace Yue excuses herself and Sokka follows, he is her bodyguard after all. Aang is shooting Zuko dirty looks and while he knows he should stay and play the part of the Avatar, playing with Momo in the snow seems like such a better idea so he's off to do that grumbling about stupid fire benders the whole time. They're ushered into the main hall and offered water to drink at the end of one of the tables.

Iroh eventually pops his eyes back into his head and looks to Katara. "It's so good to see you! I trust your journey here was good, hopefully?"

She smiles warmly, "Yes, General Iroh -"

"Uncle, I told you to call me Uncle!"

Katara laughs lightly,"Okay, Uncle then, my trip was splendid."

"Good, good!"

"Tell Lian thank you for the jerky. I think he may have even made it a little less spicy for me."

"He did," Zuko comments and Katara grins.

"I knew it. But what happened with Admiral Zhao, Zuko hasn't said anything about it yet."

"He blew up our ship."

"What!" Katara screeches and even the guards look at the old man, shocked that someone of the Fire Nation would do that to their own.

Iroh shrugs it off. "He shanghaied all of our men first and we happened to get off before it happened. Zuko hid out on Zhao's ship until we got here."

"Are you two okay?"

"We're fine. Zhao however not so much. He's pompous and one of his men overheard his plan to use them as cannon fodder. Needless to say it didn't take long for our dear admiral to end up at the bottom of the sea." Iroh isn't bothered by it in the slightest. Zuko and Katara's eyes widen in surprise though.

On of the captains, To-Sho, comments, "It's about time someone got him."

Captain Xi nods, "You know he had my niece sent to the front lines in the Earth Kingdom after I disagreed with him about how funding should be used and then he got me demoted on top of that. I'm glad someone finally stopped him." All of the guards listen in horror to the atrocities Zhao committed, thankful that someone took care of him before he invaded their homes. "It's men like him who kept this war going."

"So you are really against the war too?" Katara asks.

Xi laughs tiredly. "Young lady, I have a family and all I want is to go back to them and live out the end of my days in peace and quiet." He sighs, "Once this is over I'm heading back to my wife and we're going to the colonies to have that farm we've always dreamed about."

"Yeah, If Ozai doesn't have my head I'm retiring to Ember Island after this."

The captains and the general fall into silence, thinking about what comes after this. Katara looks at Zuko who's staring at the men in surprise. "I wasn't expecting this," he mutters. "I didn't know anyone else felt like this."

She smiles slightly, tears in her eyes, "I didn't know any of your people felt like this."

. . .

For once Yue is doing something for herself. Her entire life she's been living for her people, her position, her father. Right now she's living for herself. Sokka's breath is hot against her neck and his lips travel sloppily back to her lips. It's both of their first real kisses, kisses that are more than slight pecks or hurried guilty lip locks. They're back in his room, no one would think to look for her there and she's pushed against the wall. Both wear thick parkas but that's not important now. One hand is pulling his head closer, the other is wrapped around Sokka's shoulders. His hands cup her neck and waist, pulling her as close to him as possible. Their lips crash together, clumsy, awkward, and absolutely perfect. He presses her deeper into the wall and her lips open slightly, her tongue darting against his mouth. He opens in response but pauses, "Is this okay?"

"Sokka, please don't ask me that." She pulls him back to her and the kissing resumes. His hands wander and her back arches against him as he grips her sides. Their tongues find each other and all thoughts disappear. His tongue explores her mouth and she moans into him. The kissing gets heavier and deeper and the desire to rip their clothes off gets stronger and stronger. They don't give into it but eventually he pulls back, their foreheads resting against each other.

"I love you," he pants.

"I love you too," she sighs.

"Come with us."

"You know I can't." Yue caresses his face, breathing him in before pulling him against her mouth again.


	15. Chapter 15

Prince Zuko stands on the outer wall of the Northern Water Tribe looking out at the ships receding into the early morning fog. It's the first time in nearly three years that he'll be away from his uncle for more than a day or two. They agreed that Iroh would go back to the Fire Nation and Zuko would stay with the Avatar. The impromptu peace meeting went surprisingly well and his uncle left after five days with high hopes for the future. The future they hope for is a long way away though and right now Zuko just misses the man. It'd been a tearful affair but it was over far too quickly. Snow crunches beside him. "We're about to leave."

"I know. I'm about to head up there."

Katara reaches out, laying a light hand on his elbow, completely ignoring the guard. "Are you okay?"

"I'm fine."

She ignores that he obviously isn't and squeezes slightly. "Come one, let's go." She leads him away from the battlements wondering when exactly she began to be able to differentiate between his normal 'I'm fine' and the I'm not okay but I want you to think that I am 'I'm fine'. More than that she wonders when she started to care about just how okay he is.

. . .

Yue and Sokka are tangled in each other, each one's grip needy and hungry for more. She pulls him to her and he responds, pushing his tongue deeper into her mouth and his hips harder against hers. It's more than lust or even love driving them now, it's pain and loneliness and the knowledge of upcoming loss. All too soon he'll leave and so they press their lips together and wish for more tomorrows.

"Will I even see you again?"

"I don't know, Sokka." She runs delicate fingers over his face, burning the feel of him into her memory. She knows it will never last. She knows her father is already picking out a new husband for her. She knows that this is a one time fling that can never be repeated and that if their paths ever cross again it won't be the same. He knows it to and he buries his face into her neck, gritting his teeth so as not to cry.

"I love you."

"I love you, too." Footsteps echo in the outside hallway and they pull away from each other.

Sokka strokes her shoulder, not meeting her eyes. "So this is it?"

She's had years of training, years of schooling her face and so she looks at him without tears and simply nods before placing a chaste kiss on his lips and squaring her shoulders. Sokka watches her leave.

. . .

The group stands in front of Appa, throwing the last of their packs onto the bison's back. Arnook and Pakku are there to see them off, Princess Yue is painfully absent. Chief Arnook nods and Master Pakku steps forward. "Katara?"

"Yes Master Pakku?"

"I want you to have this." He hands her a necklace with a small vial dangling from it. "It's water from the Spirit Oasis. It has special properties, use it well and don't lose it." He prays that she won't use it on the face of the boy beside her. He knows she was on his ship for awhile, he just pointedly ignores that fact.

"Thank you," She smiles widely.

He turns to Aang and hands him an ornate box. "Aang, these scrolls will help you master water bending, but they're no substitute for a real teacher. Sokka -" Sokka steps forward, excited to see what he'll get. "Take care. Protect your little family." Pakku hands him nothing and Sokka busies himself with Appa to avoid anymore embarrassment. Pakku looks at the scarred Fire Nation Prince with the ridiculous ponytail who is nervously looking at his feet. "Zuko -" His head snaps up, "people won't take kindly to who you are. I suggest you don't fire bend around anyone and perhaps change your name. Now, all of you, fly towards the Earth Kingdom base we showed you. General Fong will help you get to Omashu to find an earth bending teacher."

"Good luck on your travels," Arnook smiles at the group. Thanking Sokka would be inappropriate but he knows that the boy was good for his daughter. Some other time he would have made an excellent husband for her. For now though all he can do is present Sokka with an ornate but functional dagger. "Thank you Sokka."

"It's so cool, thank you!" He unsheathes it and stares in awe at the beauty. The steel blade - a rarity in and of itself in the Water Tribes - is deadly sharp and the hilt is carved to echo the moon's phases.

"Come on Sokka!" Katara's crawling up Appa and Sokka scurries after her, tucking the blade safely into his belt. "Say hi to Gran Gran for us Master Pakku!"

Pakku smiles, "I will do that, Master Katara." Her entire face lights up, she's a master now! "Make sure the Avatar doesn't fall behind in his studies." She's too busy grinning like a fool to reply as Appa soars into the air. Zuko it seems doesn't enjoy flying all that much.

. . .

Six hours later finds the gaang traveling southeast over the Northern Sea. Zuko is fine now - it was just the taking off that threatened to remove his breakfast from his body. Sokka is practicing thrusts - which Zuko severely wants to correct - with his new dagger. Aang is on Appa's head guiding the bison towards the Earth Kingdom compound. Katara watches the clouds while absent-mindedly twirling water around her fingers. Zuko is just about ready to pull his hair out in boredom as he sidles next to Katara - the only member of the gaang that doesn't want him roasted over a slow fire. He's already tried to meditate - Sokka proceeded to 'accidentally' kick him - he's tried reading some of Katara's water bending scrolls - the forms make no sense to him and just make his head hurt. So finally, he's here to try and initiate some sort of conversation to make the time go by quicker. He opens his mouth to talk to her when Sokka lunges forward, the tip of his knife getting within a foot of Zuko's face. "Sorry man, didn't see you there." Katara looks up but the knife is already away.

Zuko grumbles, "It's fine."

"Oh good," The Water Tribe boy plops down right beside him, effectively stopping any conversation with the newly christened water bending master. Sokka throws his arm around Zuko, being sure to make him as uncomfortable as possible before settling into the most drawn out boring story he can think of while the prince just clenches his jaw, reminding himself that he chose to join the Avatar's team.

. . .

They make camp that night on an iceberg, needless to say there is no warm cooked meal. Sokka pulls jerky out of his bag and they all chow down quietly before heading to their sleeping bags. Aang curls up on Appa's head. Katara lays down on one of Appa's legs and Sokka takes Zuko by the shoulders while the other two get comfortable and leads him away from the group. "Is there something you need?" Zuko asks gruffly.

Once they're out of earshot Sokka turns to face him, a deadly look plastered on his face. "I don't know exactly what happened on that ship but if you lay a finger on my little sister I'll rip it off." Zuko has to hold back a snort. This boy wouldn't have a chance against him. Sokka scowls. "I've been practicing," and he walks off to the campsite, pushing Zuko's sleeping bag off of Appa's leg and onto the ice and settling in between Zuko's bag and where Katara is nestled. She's curled up in her sleeping bag and to his surprise his cloak is wrapped around her shoulders. Her hair is coming loose from the braid she keeps it in and it sticks out haphazardly. Sokka clears his throat and Zuko glares at the young man before plopping down onto his sleeping bag on the cold ice. The sun is down and so it doesn't take long for him to get to sleep though he is on edge.

Sokka doesn't go to sleep for a little while, the moon is keeping him up. It's silver and glows, just like Yue's beautiful hair. Oh how he misses her even though it's been less than a day. He'll never see her again, or at least if he does it won't be the same and Goddess that hurts. He loves her and she loves him, he knows it but within a month she'll be engaged again and within three months she'll be married. She could do so much better than any jerk in the Northern Water Tribe, she could do so much more than what that place has to offer her with their stupid views of what women are capable of. She is so much more than they realize and his heart aches to think of her wasting her life up there. Silent tears streak his face and he curls up in pain.

Whimpering wakes Zuko up, even in his sleep he knows it's Katara's. He jumps up already in bending stance, ready to protect her from whoever managed to make into their room past the lock. In his half sleep he sees a shadow move and he bends towards it, it's in between the himself and the girl he's supposed to protect. Another person jumps in and deflects the fire, knocking him back with a gust of air. He blinks in surprise and the last of the sleep leaves his vision. They're not in his room.

"What the hell was that!" The Water Tribe boy yelps, Aang standing in front of him with his staff pointed threateningly at Zuko.

"I didn't mean to do that! I'm sorry!"

"You tried to kill me!"

"No, I didn't. I just - ugh!" Katara starts to wake up. "I didn't realize it was you."

"Who else would it be out here huh?" Sokka shouts.

"Was goin on?" Katara asks sleepily and Sokka lowers his voice.

"Nothing, sis." Sokka marches away from Appa and Aang and Zuko follow, Zuko hanging his head in embarrassment at his mistake. "Now give me a good reason to not shove you in the water right here and now and leave you to drown."

"I think we should do that anyway," Aang mutters darkly, not meaning it but still.

Zuko gulps, "I forgot you were there. I woke up to Katara's whimpering and thought, I thought there was someone trying to hurt her."

"Hmpf, well next time try looking before trying to kill me okay." Zuko nods and makes to head back to camp but Aang stops him.

"Stay away from Katara." Malice that neither the Avatar nor Zuko knew existed in him drips from Aang's voice.

Zuko can stand Sokka trying to tell him what to do when it comes to Katara, after all she is his sister. Aang however has no right to at all which Zuko is more than willing to say. "Avatar, you don't get to boss me around."

"Yeah I do, you don't belong here and I'm the Avatar! I'm keeping the peace here."

"You're not keeping the peace, you're being a little brat!"

"I am no-"

"So what's for breakfast?" Katara's clear voice cuts through the tension and Aang visibly calms though still glares daggers at Zuko as he turns towards her. Sokka isn't quite sure what to think and so simply says nothing as he walks back. Zuko stares off at the slightly pinking sky, taking a few breathes to calm down. He can feel fire building inside of him in frustration and he forces it down before jointing the others.

Katara watches the prince take measured steps back to them, she's not sure what all the yelling was about but Zuko doesn't look like he completely wants to kill everyone so it can't be that bad. She hands out jerky and rolls, taking a moment longer than strictly necessary handing them to the stressed out prince. She sits next to him and stretches. She had bad dreams last night and the water around them is calling to her to relieve tension. She ignores it instead waiting for everyone to finish before climbing onto Appa. They set off in the predawn.

The following days pass in the same manner. They fly on Appa during the day, Aang and Sokka ignoring Zuko unless he tries to talk to Katara in which case Sokka starts up boring stories as his sister rolls her eyes. She knows what he's up to and makes faces behind Sokka's back as he drones on and on about this fish or that knife, Zuko watches her with a blank face but enjoys the distraction from Sokka's talking. They stop for dinner in the evenings - the third day away from the North Pole they camp on solid ground and Zuko relishes the warm fire. Katara makes dinner and washes up before giving Aang a quick lesson in water bending. They go to bed and Sokka buries his face into his pillow trying to get to sleep without thinking too much. Then Katara's muttering wakes up the prince or Zuko's jerking wakes up the water bender. Either way Zuko has managed to not try to kill Sokka again.

"What was it this time?" Katara sits beside him sipping on some broth from the night before. Zuko sits beside her, staring into the flames.

"Nothing."

"Don't lie," She sighs and sets her cup down.

"It's the usual, that's all."

"Ah, okay." Katara pulls water to her hands and slips her fingers under the back of his shirt.

Zuko jerks and wiggles away, "What are you doing!"

She smacks his back lightly, "Come on, you know you're stressed. Three days on a flying bison listening to my brother's stupid stories is enough to stress anyone out."

Zuko groans in agreement, "He doesn't shut up."

"He never does, just ignore him that's what I do. Ask him about Gran Gran's fish necklace next time you want him to leave you alone."

"A fish necklace?"

"Just trust me, he'll shut up. You could always ask him about how a girl kicked his butt on Kyoshi, that would work too." Her fingers find the knots in his back and he leans into her, his ponytail brushing against her. "So why do you wear your hair like this?"

His shoulders slump, "I don't deserve a topknot."

"Yeah you do. You're doing the right thing now, you're on the right path." She twirls a strand of hair around her finger and Zuko stiffens but Katara ignores it, thinking it's related to the hand that's still working on his back. "Your hair is so different from mine, I've never felt anything like it."

Zuko frowns, "Hair comes in different textures?"

"Yeah, yours is finer, more silky than mine." She laughs softly, "It's like running my fingers through water. My hair's rougher."

Getting the knots in his back worked out feels good enough to make him forget the nightmares. The fingers in his hair are enough to make him not care about how stressful the past few weeks have been and how really he's nervous about people liking him even if he doesn't act like it. Her hand wanders from his hair down to his lats and along his spine, water again encasing her hand as she delves into him. He groans in relief but it's cut short by a cry of pain as she touches a cord of energy twisted around his heart.

"Are you okay!"

Zuko runs across a grassy knoll, laughing happily with his mother for a moment before seeing the small campfire in front of him now. His chest aches, "I'm fine."

"Zuko-" She reaches out to him but he stands abruptly and leaves. "Ass," she mutters under her breath though she doesn't mean it. This is what she gets for trusting a fire bender, for wanting to actually talk to a friggin fire bender. The sun is hardly even up, and she's up because of him, she should just go back to bed. No, Aang will be up soon and so will Sokka's stomach and she'll need to take care of them. The best part about the North Pole was that they didn't expect her to cook for them there. If she wasn't so damn mothering - and completely convinced they might accidentally poison themselves - she'd make them cook instead.

Zuko paces back and forth in the trees, trying to make sense of all the thoughts whirring around his skull. He still feels like a traitor, he knows he's not but damn he feels like it or at least guilty. Part of him says that standing by his family - even when they're wrong - is important. The smarter part of him knows that's not true but he still feels odd about the whole situation. Add to that the fact that Sokka seems to take great pleasure out of torturing him and the Avatar has hardly spoken to him at all and the prince is at a loss for what to do. He could knock them all over the head and fly the giant bison to the Fire Nation palace, in fact that's what the old him would have done. Now he's struggling with trying to keep his temper in check and resist the urge to correct Sokka's every knife move instead.

"Where's Zuko?" Aang's far too chipper for this early in the morning, especially since he just woke up.

Katara sighs and drops the broth she was bending back into the pot. A good morning would have been nice. "I don't know, he walked off a bit ago."

"So what, you two were up again?"

She says nothing but her nostrils flare. He's accusing her of something or at least his tone says that but what the hell is wrong with comforting someone after a bad dream? She comforts Aang after a bad dream, Zuko is no different. "Why don't you wake Sokka up?"

"Uuhn," A groan comes from the Water Tribe warrior's sleeping roll. "I'm awake."

"Sure you are," Katara laughs to relieve the tension still wafting off of Aang. "There's soup over the fire, I want it all gone before we leave but make sure there's enough for Zuko too and there's porridge for you Aang."

"Where are you going?"

"I'm going to go train, there's a stream nearby." She waltzes away from the boys without a second glance, more specifically away from Aang and his angry looks. Sokka has, surprisingly, been rather calm about this whole situation.

. . .

The group arrives at General Fong's fortress that afternoon and are greeted by gawking soldiers and screeching ostrich horses running away from the landing Appa. A large imposing man with a huge beard and equally huge torso stands in front of more soldiers, not gawking but standing quietly in straight lines. "Welcome Avatar Aang!" He booms.

Aang smiles and slide off of Appa before rubbing his rear tiredly. "Hi. You're General Fong?"

The general is thrown off by the complete lack of decorum. "Uh yes, and these must be your friends. I was told of Master Katara and her brother Sokka but the North Pole failed to mention another person."

"That's - "

"Lee," Zuko blurts out. "I'm Lee."

"Well, Lee, Master Katara, brave Sokka, Momo, Appa, and of course Avatar Aang it is an honor to meet you all! I'll have someone show you to your rooms and then we'll reconvene for dinner in two hours."

"Thanks," Aang smiles at the man before jumping onto Appa's back to start throwing things down. Servants quickly grab the bags - careful to avoid anymore falling ones - and whisk them off to their room. They all dismount and someone leads the sky bison to the stables as they follow a short spindly man into the compound to their rooms.

"Ah, bed!" Sokka plops down onto a mat, "No rocks or lumps or anything."

"Uh-" The man who had guided them there is ignored as Sokka luxuriates on the mat, Katara immediately heads to the sink and bends water to wash her face, Aang continues to rub his rear, and Zuko walks in awkwardly only to stand in the corner of the room and stretch his arms. The man eventually gives up, sighs, and walks away, closing the door behind him.

"I love Appa dearly but I'd forgotten how much I don't like riding on him all the time," Katara runs fingers through her hair, just generally trying to feel cleaner after a day of travel and three days of no baths.

"You guys really went all the way from the South to the North Pole on him?"

"Yupp," Sokka shoots Zuko a wicked grin, "And you chasing us sure didn't help our rears."

Zuko blushes in embarrassment, "Sorry about that."

"Dude, I don't like you but my sister does so it's whatever," He shrugs.

"Uh, thanks I guess."

"Don't mention it." Katara smiles at Sokka's words and Aang glowers. "So, Lee now is it? Prince Lee or just Lee, hah prince Lee princely, see what I did there."

Katara rolls her eyes, "Yes Sokka, very funny." Zuko stands there, surprised and unsure of what just happened. Maybe he's just been actually accepted into the group or at least by Sokka?

. . .

The moon hangs high in the sky watching over the fortress. Sokka holds a small hairpiece in his hands that he found in his bags earlier that day when he unpacked. It'd worked it's way to the bottom of his pack and it's a miracle he even saw it as it tumbled out when he dumped his bag upside down. The stone is carved with the same design that adorned Yue's larger hair clips that he'd told her once were gorgeous. There was no note, nothing attached but he knows it's from her, knows it's her way of giving him something to remember her by. He just wishes he'd thought to give something to her. He just misses her and his chest aches. Their time had been far too short but the memories would last a lifetime, he knows that. His heart aches and he grips the hair clip as tears roll silently over his cheeks, the moon reflected in his eyes as he sits at the window in the hallway outside the room.

"Oh, I didn't see you were here, sorry." Sokka jerks around, he hadn't even heard Zuko coming up behind him but quickly wipes the tears from his face.

"It's fine, I was just leaving."

"No, I'll go."

"No," Sokka sighs, "We might as well get to know each other, Katara would like that." That and bugging Zuko has managed to keep him distracted for the past few days and right now he could use a distraction so he pats the floor next to him. Zuko sits down stiffly, tension running through him but not saying anything. "So, what woke you up?"

"Couldn't sleep."

"Yeah right, you were out like a log when I walked out of the room."

"Well what kept you up then?" Zuko doesn't want to talk about his dreams with the practically stranger.

"Nothing," Sokka mutters.

"Sure."

After a moment Sokka talks, "That girl back at the North Pole, Princess Yue, I love her but nothing will ever come from it, nothing ever can. She's a princess and you said it yourself, I'm a peasant. She's going to get engaged again and get married and I'll never get to be with her again. I don't know if I'll even get to see her ever again and if I do it won't be the same. She'll be married and I'll be the klutz that she loved once upon a time. The worst part is that her tribe decides everything for her, she doesn't get a say in her own life! She could do so much more than what they'll let her, she's so much better than what they'll let her be! I wanted her to come with us, I wanted to take her away from all of that but she stayed. She wouldn't come with me, she didn't even come see us off."

"That's rough, buddy."

Sokka deflates all the anger cried away earlier, now he's just numb, wondering why he revealed all of that to the boy he'd sworn death on not too long ago. "I love her and she loves me but we were doomed from the start. I should have never fallen for her. Her kisses, the way her hair shone like the moon, she smelled of glaciers and sunshine and when she smiled the room lit up, everything about her is amazing." He sighs and rips his thoughts away from her, away from the scab that he's trying to form over his heart, "So what about you, any girls back home waiting for you?"

Zuko snorts. "No, no one would look twice at a banished prince."

"I'm sure you'll find someone. I did." Sokka looks down at the clip in his hand one more time before closing his fingers tightly around it again.

. . .

They all sit in a grand hall for breakfast, Sokka and Zuko ignoring that the previous night ever happened. Sokka does however have a new hair clip holding his warrior's wolf tail together. Fong looks up from his meal, setting his chopsticks down. "Avatar Aang!"

The man has hardly spoken all of breakfast and so Aang's properly shocked at being addressed, "Uh yeah General Fong?"

"I've heard tales of the Avatar State, the amazing power it wields. I can't imagine what it feels like to wield such devastating power! It's an awesome responsibility." Fong grins and for a heart-stopping moment Zuko only sees Zhao at the head of the table not the Earth Kingdom man.

Aang shrugs, "I try not to think about it too much."

"Avatar, you're ready to face the Fire Lord."

Aang and Katara's eyebrows shoot up, Sokka chokes on his oats and Zuko's tea spurts out his nose. "You're joking, right? This kid wouldn't stand a chance."

Aang rounds on Zuko, "I am not a kid!"

"Yeah you are, you're like ten."

"I'm one hundred fourteen years old thank you very much!"

"Enough, guys enough!" Katara comes between the two benders before turning to Fong. "Aang still needs to master all the elements, he's not taking on the Fire Lord anytime soon."

"Why?" Fong booms. "With the power he possesses he could take down the Fire Lord in a matter of minutes!"

"But sir," Sokka cuts in, "He could only do that if he were in the Avatar State."

"And I don't know how to get in or out of the Avatar State, I've only ever been in it a few times and they were all accidents."

Fong doesn't even pause, "Well then it's settled, we'll help you figure out how to get into the Avatar State and then you'll face your destiny."

Katara's hands are on her hips and she looks very similar to the day she faced down Pakku, "No, nothing's decided! We already have a plan and he's going to pursue his destiny his own way, not your way!" She sticks her nose in the air and struts off, grabbing Aang as she walks out the door. "Let's go practice water bending, you haven't done that in a few days I'm sure your forms are getting sloppy."

"Yes Katara," Aang replies submissively.

Aang proceeds to have his butt handed to him multiple times over the next hour, unable to keep up with Katara's frustrated bending as she lashes out with days worth of pent up aggression. Eventually Zuko who had been watching from the sidelines with Sokka rolls his eyes as Aang - yet again - whizzes away from a wave on a little air scooter. Fire erupts in front of her waves, turning the water to steam. "Why don't you take your anger out on someone who can actually dish it back _Master _Katara!" Zuko calls and the avatar breathes a sigh of relief that he's no longer being relentlessly attacked. Angry mutters of ' fire bender' ripple through the soldiers watching.

She smirks wickedly as her gaze falls on Zuko. "Okay _Lee, _I'll take you on. I'll wipe the floor with your face!"

The two stare at each other, each daring the other to make the first move. Katara twitches and Zuko shoots flames towards her face. She rolls and directs water spikes at his stomach. He ducks and kicks out but his fire is blocked by a massive rock rising from the ground between the two.

"What is the meaning of this!" Fong roars from a balcony nearby before jumping down. "There is no fire bending here! If you weren't with the Avatar you'd be thrown out like the trash you are!" He spits at Zuko's feet and Zuko flares.

"How dare you-"

"_Lee,"_ Katara rushes forward, placing a calming hand on his chest, that one word reminding him of what he's trying to do. He has to calm down. "Sorry General. It won't happen again." Zuko's jaw tightens.

"Keep that filthy fire bender away from my men, they've seen enough flames to last a life time."

Katara can't keep her mouth shut at that, "He's not filthy! He's a perfectly nice guy, so what does it matter if he fire bends!"

"Look around you child, look at the soldiers here." He seethes," They're tired and wounded and most of it comes from fire benders so forgive us if we aren't to happy to see one in our base." Katara glares at him a moment longer before actually looking at the men who had been gathered to watch the going ons. Most have bandages, a few are missing body parts. Burn scars abound. Aang sees them too. "This is why we need the Avatar State, to keep our people safe from the Fire Nation. Every day our people die and you want your precious Avatar to sit by and slowly master the elements when we need him to end the war today!"

"Fuck you," it lacks venom and she knows it but she won't completely loose face to this man though she knows that soon she'll be out here trying to heal as many men as possible.

That afternoon finds her in the infirmary, water glowing around her hands. Zuko stands close by, careful to make sure she's safe from the men all around.

. . .

"Katara?"

"Yeah Aang?"

"I saw the soldiers today. I told General Fong I'd help him. I'll go into the Avatar State."

"What!"

"I don't have time to do this the right way, I have to defeat the Fire Lord now or else more people will get hurt."

"If you want to throw away everything we've worked on by blundering in half cocked fine, go ahead, glow it up."

. . .

Katara doesn't talk to Aang that evening.

Katara doesn't even look at him the next morning. Sokka however thinks it's a great idea. Zuko vehemently disagrees but is ignored. Aang and Sokka go off with Fong after breakfast. Katara and Zuko wander through the halls. "Why are you against Aang doing this? I would've thought you'd be all over it."

"Really Zuko?"

"Hey-"

"Sorry, Lee. I don't want him to get hurt is all. He's not ready for it."

Zuko chuckles darkly, "You're right about that. My father would destroy him the way he is now."

"That's what I'm afraid of." They walk down stark brown and green halls that have no decorations in companionable silence, each contemplating what would happen if Aang were to take on the Fire Lord now. They're both positive that they'd be looking for the next Avatar soon afterwards if they even managed to survive the fight. "So, going up against your dad, are you okay with that?"

Zuko exhales harshly, "He was okay with going up against me."

Katara lays a hand on his elbow, forcing him to stop walking. "I learned something in the North Pole."

"Don't," He removes his arm from hers and keeps walking. "Not again."

"I can actually do it this time! I can't make it all go away but damn I can help!"

"I don't need your help or your pity!" He roars.

"It's not pity dumbass!" Somehow the two have ended up nose to nose glaring. "If you don't want my help fine, but it's not fucking pity."

Zuko doesn't ease up on his glare, "Fine but I still don't need your help."

Katara rolls her eyes and steps back, "Okay. I'm here if you want me though."

Her words send a jolt through the Fire Nation Prince. He knows what she meant but he heard it an entirely different way. He blushes and immediately turns around. "Uh, let's go outside. We can practice some hand to hand," No, that's a bad choice, "Actually why don't you just go do whatever it is you do. I'm going to go meditate." He scampers off, a bewildered water bender left in his wake.

"What was that all about?"" She mutters to herself.

In the privacy of the bedroom Zuko fire bends to light two candles and sits down in front of them, trying to get his breathing and heart rate down. He can't believe how he behaved, he's not a child! Admittedly it's been hard to find any private time in the past few weeks but still, her words shouldn't have made him run away like frightened ostrich horse. He has to school his thoughts, he has to calm down. He cannot think of her that way, she is a fellow bender, nothing more. Except that she's your friend, a little voice whispers in his head which he promptly tells to shut up.

. . .

"Katara!" Aang swoops into the dining hall.

"What?" Her voice is icy.

He falters at her tone but presses forward after a beat, "I wish you could have been there today! They gave me this drink that gave me super energy and, and they tried scaring me - let me tell you, Momo isn't all that scary. Some weird old guy threw dirt on me, it was crazy!"

"That's nice Aang," She continues to pick at her food with chopsticks.

"Do you want to come see us tomorrow?"

"No thanks."

Aang's shoulders fall, "Oh, okay then."

Sokka walks in, his arm thrown over an awkward and uncomfortable Zuko's shoulder.

. . .

"Can we talk about something Aang?" She's cornered him outside of their room before bedtime.

"Sure, what is it?"

"You remember when we were at the Air Temple and you found Monk Gyatso's skeleton? It must have been so awful and traumatic for you, you were so upset that you weren't even you anymore. I'm not saying that the Avatar State doesn't have incredibly and even helpful power but you have to understand that for the people that love you, seeing you in that much pain with so much rage is really scary."

Right then Aang only sees the compassionate innocent girl that she was before Zuko captured her. Still though, he knows what he has to do and she can't change his mind. "Katara, I saw those men out there and I can't let more people get like that. I can't - I can't let people like Zuko capture people like you ever again. I have to protect them."

"So that's what this is about, you protecting me! What is this, some kind of self-induced punishment?"

"No!" he twists his hands together nervously, "That's not what I meant! I just want everyone to be safe that's all and to do that I have to defeat the Fire Lord. I have to do this. I'm already a hundred years late, I can't get any later."

Katara shakes her head sadly, "I can't watch you do this to yourself, Aang, I won't. Goodnight."

"Goodnight." Katara closes the door behind her and Aang's forehead furrows. He doesn't know what to do, he knows this is wrong, but what else can he even do? What else will possibly end the war?

Tonight it's Aang's turn to have nightmares. He dreams of terrifying spouts of water jutting him up over Zuko's ship in the South Pole. He dreams of hellish storms and a forest falling to pieces beneath his anger. Mostly though he dreams of horrifying blue eyes devoid of emotion, soul, or even thought. The world falls under those eyes' uncaring gaze and the world burns out of control. Aang wakes up in a cold shivering sweat, sitting upright in fear. Katara jerks in her sleep but doesn't wake as he slips out of the room.

. . .

"I don't think this will work."

"What?" General Fong looks up from his papers, the morning sun streaming in through the open window.

"I don't think this will work," Aang reiterates. "I don't think we can or should try and trigger the Avatar State. It's too dangerous, I can't control it."

"Are you sure I can't change your mind?"

Aang nods, "It seems like I can only reach the Avatar State when I'm in genuine danger."

"I was afraid you'd say that," Fong pinches the bridge of his nose in a show of frustration. It's cut short when the desk he sits at shoots forward, knocking Aang out of the window.

Sokka, who had been headed to join Aang for the day's activities, sees and lunges forward. "Aang!" Two guards restrain him. Sokka elbows one in the gut and headbutts the other but Aang's already in the courtyard far below.

"Men, attack the Avatar!" Fong booms and without question soldiers react. Fong leaps from the window, earth reaching up for him to land on.

"What are you doing!" Earthen disks rise in front of the benders surrounding him and levitate there.

"I believe we are about to get results," Fong replies cooly before raising a disk of his own and propelling it towards the young boy.

"I'm not your enemy!" Aang's words fall on deaf ears. Appa's growling in the distance, twenty soldiers holding him down. The booms and rolls of earth shake the entire compound, jerking Katara out of her scroll about more advanced water bending techniques, Zuko out of his stretches on a balcony at the rear of the building, and Momo out of a well deserved nap of Katara's lap.

Katara scratches Momo's ear affectionately, "I wonder what crazy thing they're trying now." Even though she doesn't want him to see her there, doesn't want him to think she's supporting him, she wants to go check on Aang. She walks down the hall and out onto the main stairs to an unexpected view. Aang is dodging giant disks that are being thrown at him, rolled at him, and smooches towards him along with spears thrown from non-benders. Sokka runs up to her, panting. "The general's gone crazy!" he shouts before pulling his boomerang out of it's holster. Katara uncorks her water and jumps into the fray. Sokka takes down soldiers with conks on the head while Katara sends jets and whips towards men, pulling them off balance or flat out knocking them unconscious. She knocks one off an ostrich horse that runs away scared before Sokka grabs hold of the reins and mounts it. It immediately takes off, Sokka holding on for dear life. Aang is still being chased by the earth and leaps up the stairs trying to avoid it.

Again Katara attacks but the men she knocks down seem to be replaced instantaneously. She doesn't realize that the disks are forming a v-shaped wall around her until it's too late. She flings her water toward Fong but the ground rises up and turns it to mud. The ground beneath her opens up, sucking her feet into it up to her knees.

"Maybe you can avoid me Avatar, but she can't." Fong bellows.

"Don't hurt her!" Aang sends a blast of air at the general but he simply raises a wall of rock in front of him. Sokka charges but is town from his mount, landing with a solid thud in the square inside the disks. Fong had expected the brother to attack, what he had forgotten to take into account was the fire bender. Katara sinks lower in to the ground - up to her hips - when an enormous wave a fire rolls down around the man.

"Let - her - go," Zuko seethes.

"Tell your friend to go into the Avatar State and I will."

Three soldiers converge on Zuko but blasts of fire easily knock him down.

"Stop, you'll burn her!" Aang rushes forward, grabbing Fong's arm. "Stop this, you have to let her go!"

"You could save her if you were in the Avatar State." Fong smiles maliciously at the begging boy.

"I'm trying!" She sinks farther. Panic sets in and she can't seem to breath right. Zuko roars and kicks out at Fong, blast after unrelenting blast knocking him back as Aang hurries to Katara, trying to free her. Zuko fights with a power he didn't even know he had as his vision tunnels in on the man responsible for the jagged breathing coming from the woman he's supposed to protect. Earth walls are raised and Zuko blasts them away, getting closer and closer to his prey. Fong still casts glances at the Avatar, trying to see if he's in the Avatar State yet. There's no glowing and so in between raising walls to protect himself he sinks her completely into the ground, not even her long braid still in view.

Aang screams and Zuko turns to look. A boulder knocks him back.

Aang's arrows and eyes are glowing.

Aang doesn't care about anyone who might get hurt, he only cares about protecting his Katara or at least ending the man who threatens her.

"It's working! It's working!" Fong shouts but Aang doesn't - can't hear him. Air swirls around him, creating tornadoes in his wake as he flies towards Fong on a large whirlwind. Dust flies and even the earthen disks and soldiers are knocked aside. Sokka comes to just in time to avoid getting hurt. Zuko looks up at the Avatar, remembering the day the forest not too terribly long ago. "Avatar Aang! Can you hear me? Your friend is safe, it was just a trick to get you into the Avatar State." He makes a motion and Katara rises - trembling violently - from the ground but Aang doesn't see, he's a thousand miles away in the Spirit World and the previous Avatar, Roku, is telling him not to use the Avatar State like this. If he's killed while in the Avatar State no other Avatars will be born ever. He'll not only be the last air bender, but also the last avatar.

The winds die down. The tornado dissipates and Aang lands softly on the ground, staring in horror at the courtyard. He did this, he did all of this and he's sick to his stomach about it. Tears form in the corners of his eyes. He finds Katara, the girl he did this all for, in Zuko's arms clutching onto his shirt for dear life, her eyes wild and scared.

Fong strolls up joyfully, "That was almost perfect!" He crows, "We just have to find a way to control you when you're like that."

"You're out of your mind!" Aang retorts.

The general ignores him, "I guess we'll figure that out on the way to the Fire Nation!"

Sokka, who somehow managed to get on another ostrich horse, comes up behind the man and with a solid thwack, Fong falls to the ground unconscious. "We're leaving now. I'm taking my sister, the Avatar, and the fire bender and we're leaving," he calls to the entire courtyard. "Does anyone have a problem with that?"

No one has a problem with that.

. . .

**Okay, quick author's note. My updates will become a little further apart considering a)I've been super sick b)conventions most weekends that I sell at c)holidays and d)inspiration comes and goes. Also, I went back and tweaked Chapter 5 where Katara said how old she is. I decided, based on the content of this story that everyone should be two years older. Please tell me if there's anywhere else I need to fix ages.**

**And to Epic Romance, thank you so so much for your encouragement, kind words, and support! Your PMs mean a lot to me and your encouragement really helped get my butt in gear when I was stuck halfway through the chapter.**


	16. Chapter 16

The first night out of Fong's compound Katara wakes up screaming. Everyone jolts awake to comfort her.

The second night Katara wakes up screaming. Everyone jolts awake but Aang goes back to sleep.

The third night Katara is drunk off her ass - they passed through a village earlier - and Zuko wakes everyone up by turning the small campfire into a pillar of flame in his sleep.

The fifth night Katara is shaken awake by firm hands before she can wake anyone else up.

By the eighth night it's become normal for Zuko to wake her in the middle of the night. They take catnaps on Appa during the day.

The morning of the tenth day dawns bright and cool, not chilly but not quite as warm as they'd like though Zuko is fine. By mid afternoon it's the perfect weather - warm and not a cloud in the sky - and they stop for a much needed dose of relaxation. Katara has been training Aang every morning before they set off. Aang vehemently refuses her suggestions that perhaps Zuko should show him some fire bending. He's getting better at water bending and now they're on their way to Omashu to find an earth bending teacher.

Relaxing comes in the form of a clear stream running through a clearing tucked into the foot of a mountain. "Come on Katara," Aang tries not to notice the dark circles under her eyes, "Why don't we do some bending?"

She smiles wearily, "Sure." Sokka has already stripped to his underwear and steps into the water with a sigh. Small waves lap at his thighs as he gets deeper in before he sinks back and begins to float, all the tension easing out of his back. Aang pulls most of his clothes off and jumps in, splashing all around him. Katara thinks nothing of it as she unwraps her dress and it falls to the dirt. In the South Pole most everyone has seen each other naked or close to it simply because of the lack of solid doors and so it doesn't bother her. She breathes a long sigh of relief as she steps into the water, actually letting it wrap around her instead of jumping into a lesson to teach Aang. She blocks other sounds out and sits down, feeling the currents around her letting them sink into her mind.

Zuko stands by Appa a moment longer than the others before shrugging out of his shirt. It's unprincely for him to be without pants and so he keeps them on, especially glad of that as Katara's dress drops from her shoulders to reveal white cloth wrappings holding her breasts firmly, her slender dark waist that lower becomes wider hips covered by more strips of cloth. She sways as she steps into the stream. He blushes darkly and rearranges his pants before plunging into the freezing water. When he surfaces Katara is, for the first time in days, smiling softly to herself. He wants to keep her smiling.

Aang breaks the spell, zooming up to her loudly. "So, you want to start?"

The smile falters momentarily until she plasters another one on. "How about we just relax? You've done enough training for now."

"Oh. Okay." Aang wanders over to the shore and over a little hill, pouting. Katara reaches a glowing hand up to her neck and sighs. Zuko contemplates wading towards her when a small wave attacks him. What! He didn't see Katara move to bend at him, is she so good that she somehow mastered bending with a twitch of her fingers at some point or what?

"Hey jerk bender." Ah, that explains it. He turns around to meet another lazy splash directed at him which turns to steam. "You wanna spar?"

Zuko snorts and looks imperiously down his nose at Sokka, or at least as imperiously as he can while dripping and staring at a mostly naked guy who has a lemur curled up on his chest. "How would you spar with me? You're not a bender."

"I know that, I was talking about hand to hand. I could use some good practice."

Zuko rolls his eyes, "I'll kick your ass."

"Whatever jerk bender, whatever." Sokka stands up casually and Zuko heads back to the bank. "Mega-tackle-kick!" Sokka cries and runs at Zuko who turns around with time to spare and easily flips Sokka over his shoulder but Sokka grabs hold of him and pulls the prince down with him into the water and mud.

"No, no! I am not grappling with you when you're half naked Sokka!"

Sokka just laughs in reply, "Really, the prince of the Fire Nation is afraid to fight because I'm not dressed? What, do I have cooties?" Sokka guffaws and chases towards Zuko, making what he assumes are cootie noises. Zuko blocks. Soon both boys are grappling in the water despite Zuko's protest that he wouldn't do it unless Sokka got dressed. Katara finds herself laughing and with a grin joins in creating larger waves. Water pulls playfully at Zuko's ponytail and smacks Sokka's back. "Hey! No bending Katara, that's not fair!"

"It's perfectly fair," She hollers back and washes both boys a bit further out into the stream. Sokka turns back to his opponent, the one who's actually being fair and not bending but a wicked smirk greets him. "No, nope, I'm not doing this!" Zuko's grin grows wider and the water starts to heat around them. "Ah, I'm boiling alive!" Sokka shouts melodramatically though the water is only barely starting to give off steam and he flops back.

"I beat you."

"Only because you cheated."

"I still wo-" Both guys gets water to the face.

"Boys, boys I think I'm the one who actually won," Katara smiles daringly. Sokka knows better than to get into this and scampers out of the way of the two benders.

"You might want to guess again."

"You're in the middle of a stream." Katara laughs at the realization that dawns on his face as the face spins around him and washes him downstream, depositing him safely and swiftly onto the ground far enough away that there was no question that she had won.

Eventually Aang returns to find Sokka still floating around, Zuko going through various kata, and Katara giving Appa a good bath which he thoroughly seems to be enjoying. No one expects it when a throaty tenor joins in with the chirping birds and all of the travelers turn in unison, Zuko and Katara immediately dropping into battle poses. Sokka and Aang just look over in surprise at the new arrivals. An odd older man with an atrocious hat and worn clothes comes traipsing in playing a sitar, followed closely by a young woman with a flute, and a fat man with a bored but vaguely content expression. "Hey, hey, river people!" The appears-to-be-leader calls.

Katara relaxes a little, they seem harmless and Aang pipes up, "We're not river people."

"Well, what kinda people are ya then?"

"Just people," Aang shrugs, confused.

The man grins, "Aren't we all brother, aren't we all."

"Who are you? What do you want?" Zuko growls as they step closer.

"I'm Chong and this is my wife, Lily." Chong doesn't even think to introduce the other man. "We're nomads, just wandering around wherever the winds takes us."

Aang perks up, "Nomads! That's great, I'm a nomad!"

"Oh cool, I'm a nomad too," Chong grins.

"Uh, you just said that."

"Oh," Chong doesn't look particularly perturbed by that and just grins and wanders towards Appa. Katara can almost see a smoky haze around them as they get closer and the smell burns her nose.

Zuko doesn't budge. "What do you want?" he asks again.

"Brother, we just want to spread happiness." Chong grabs Zuko by the shoulder and hugs tightly causing the fire bender almost to smash the man's face into his knee but he holds still repeating over and over to himself 'do not kill strangers do not kill strangers'. Katara rescues him and stops the vein in his neck from popping in frustration at being a nice person.

"So Chong, that's a nice instrument," she smiles through clenched teeth. They smell and something about Chong throws her off and it's not just the smoke.

He pulls away from Zuko and strokes the sitar lovingly, much the same way Sokka strokes his boomerang. "Oh really, thanks. Would you like to hear a song? There's one that goes like-"

"No, nope, sorry but we have to get to Omashu now," Sokka springs out of the water not at all interested in hearing what this stoned hippie has to sing.

"Oh but it goes like SECRET TUNNEL, SECRET TUNNEL," The man belts out, causing the gaang to wince.

"No, no we have to go now." Sokka doesn't even bother with pants before climbing up on Appa and Zuko isn't far behind, scooping his shirt up on the way.

The woman, Lily, smiles serenely, just as high as her husband, "It sounds like someone's got a case of destination fever. You've got to focus less on the where and more on the going."

"We're going to Omashu. O-Ma-Shu."

Katara nods, "Sokka's right, we need to get there and find Bumi so Aang can learn earth bending somewhere safe."

Aang groans, "I thought we were relaxing today you know, taking a break from everything."

"We can take a break later," Katara's tone doesn't leave any room for arguing.

Aang hangs his head and gathers up his clothes, Katara coming behind him and grabbing hers and Sokka's. "Okay."

"There's an old legend about a secret tunnel through the mountains that leads right up to Omashu."

Aang turns around, "Really!"

"No, Aang," Zuko snaps.

"Yeah, arrow-kid," Chong starts to sing and Sokka's hand meets his forehead, "Two lovers forbidden from one another. A war divides their people and a mountain divides them apart. Built a path to be together. I don't remember the next few lines but then it goes, SECRET TUNNEL, SECRET TUNNEL SECRET SECRET SECRET SECRET TUNNEL!"

"I think we'll just stick to flying, thanks," Sokka replies.

Aang nods sadly, "Yeah, Appa hates going underground and we have to whatever makes him happiest." Not to mention the fact that Katara was recently entombed in stone and will gladly strangle someone before setting foot into a tunnel though they don't know that.

. . .

The wind whips through Katara's braid as she flows from one form into the next. It finally occurred to her why she detested that Chong man so much but the reason bothers her even more. His name, Chong is so much like Chang and Fong and she hates him for it. It's silly to hate someone she doesn't even know especially because of his name but she can't get rid of the angry boiling inside her chest and so she throws herself even more into the forms.

Zuko watches and sees the stressed muscles and tense jaw. He sees how her bending is sharper than what he's seen in the past week or two, it's more like the forceful fire bending forms he taught her.

Sokka sees and recognizes the mood his sister is in though he can't for the life of him figure out why.

Aang just watches the sky ahead and sees the fireball flying towards them at the last second. He yanks on the reigns and Appa swerves to the side throwing his riders off balance. Katara stumbles but Sokka reaches out and grabs her before she goes over. "Geez, sis, you okay?"

"What was that!"

"Someone just tried to hit us! The Fire Nation spotted us!"

"Don't worry about the fire, I'll take care of that just don't get hit by the rocks they use."

"And I'll just sit here holding on for dear life as Appa tries to throw us all off," Sokka shouts, clutching the saddle as they dodge yet another fireball though the flames quickly disperse.

"Are you trying to kill us, Avatar?" Zuko roars.

"Shut up! I'm doing the best I can!" Appa crashes into the forest below them, uprooting trees in his wake. All of the passengers fly off except for a green Sokka who still has the saddle in a vice grip. He quickly lets go to puke over the side.

Aang drifts down leisurely to land on Appa's back. "Where's Katara and Momo?"

"They must have gotten thrown off with Zuko." Sokka wipes his mouth and looks around at the forest, no swamp is a better term for it. Flies buzz around murky puddles of water and vines wrap heavily around the trees. He pulls his boomerang off his back. "We'd better go find them before it gets dark."

. . .

"So much for a relaxing day," Katara hisses to herself. "I'm stuck in the middle of Goddess only knows where with no idea where anyone else is. Great." There's no way to know where the others are, the fall disoriented her and there's no debris showing which way Appa fell. Katara sighs though she is thankful for a few moments alone. Maybe she won't hurry back to them so quickly.

. . .

Momo had the unfortunate luck of grabbing onto Zuko during the crash and now scampers across his shouldered angrily chattering until he's pulled off and held at arm's length. "Get off of me you flying rat!" Momo may not completely understand him but still manages to look properly offended. Zuko rubs the back of his head, annoyed. "Fine, fine you're not a flying rat but you still don't need to be climbing all over me."

Zuko looks up at the trees and vines around him. "Shit," there's no evidence of which way the others went. "It looks like we're lost." He steps forward, the murky water sucking at his legs. Something croaks in the distance and it doesn't take long before the area is again alive with the sounds of nature and Momo is perched atop Zuko's shoulder. "Let's try and figure out where to go. I can't see the sun much but I think it's that way and it was on our left side when we were traveling."

. . .

"These stupid vines are getting in the way!" Sokka groans as he hacks at them. Aang jumps from tree to tree but never out of Sokka's sight. Even from the treetops nothing's visible that would lead to the others. Another tree, larger than all the others overshadows them even from a distance and Aang's heart speeds up. Something about it is familiar, something about the towering limbs and swaying vines calls to him. His feet move without his permission and leaves fly by underneath him without him even realizing it. He has to get to the tree, it's calling him pulling his spirit towards the massive trunk.

Far below and behind Aang, Sokka still hacks at the vines. "Hey Aang, can you give me a hand with this? Use some of your bendy powers or something." No reply except for croaking birds. "Aang?" The branches above him are clear, no monks. "Aang this isn't funny!" Still no one replies and Sokka deflates, plopping into the mud. "Did you see him Appa?" The bison just looks at him and roars. "Yeah, I thought so. Leave it to him to wander off in the middle of a search. Katara's might be in trouble but no Aang runs off!" Sokka jumps at a touch on his ankle. "What the-" a vine slithers away from him and his eyes go wide. "We've got to get out of here buddy!"

The Water Tribe boy scampers up Appa's side and stops cold. Katara stands in the saddle, the Katara of his nightmares. Blood runs down her arms and sticky pools of it are at her feet. Her usually bright blues eyes are dull, almost dead and follow him as he stumbles back and falls against the rim of the saddle. "Why didn't you protect me, Sokka?" Crimson drips out of her mouth as she speaks. "You ran away and left me to be tortured. You might as well have done this to me yourself."

"No!" He chokes out. "I didn't mean to!" His hands cover his face and ears, trying to block her out. "You're not real, you're not real, you're not real!"

. . .

"Ugh!" No matter how many tendrils Zuko cut down more appear in front of him, thicker and more tangled than the ones he just had finished with. Eventually, after only moving about fifty yards, being tapped on the shoulder to find no one there, and sweating buckets, the prince punches a nearby tree in frustration. "Shit!" A large splinter gets lodged in between his knuckles. He flinches as he uncurls his fist before deciding that it would be easier to pull out from the original position. He clenches his hand and moves to remove the wood but a softer, delicate pale hand closes over his. "Hold on turtle duck, I'll get it for you."

"Mom," he gasps, not even realizing that the image in front of him has taken out the shard. She wears what he remembers her in, long flowing robes that have relaxed shoulders and golden dragons dancing along the rims of her sleeves and around her neck. A metal flame perches atop her head and her long black hair swishes as she moves.

"Oh my dear little turtle duck, look at how you've grown," She smiles and the entire swamp seems to light up before she casts a worried look over her shoulder. "Remember my love, everything I've done, I've done to protect you." Cool lips press against his forehead and he closes his eyes, leaning into his mother's touch.

Tears sting at the corner of his good eye and his heart aches. "I've missed you so much Mom. I wish you could have been -" Zuko opens his eyes and she's gone, only Momo is there with him. "I miss you," His voice cracks and his face falls. He stumbles forward, trying to get away from much more than just that place but he doesn't realize that the vines are much thinner now that he's not cutting them.

. . .

It's a nice walk, even if the air is sticky and bugs are buzzing around her head. Her only problem is that the shadows are making her jumpy, each one seems to shift as soon as she takes her eyes off of it. Occasionally she'll stop for a moment and feel the water around her. The first time it was a shock, the swamp is so alive and she can feel so much. A larger awareness dances at the edge of her consciousness but she can't quite feel or understand it. She can tell vaguely what direction the others are in by the way they move in the water, disrupting the flow. Bigger animals, maybe even people, she's not sure, are here also. Right now someone one close to her and so she's headed in that direction. This time when she reaches out to feel the water and the creatures lurking around her, instead of finding calm ripples she feels hurried splashing coming from close to where she last felt one of her companions. There might be something wrong! She needs to find out!

Her leisurely stroll quickly turns into a bending practice as she raises her arms, the mud much slower to react than water but she can still zoom forward on a wave of it. The water bending master speeds forward but stops in a small clearing. A beam of golden light breaks through the branches illuminating the wounded neck and ghoulish grin of Chang. Katara's blood turns to ice and she hisses, "You're dead." She's terrified but by the Goddess she will not show it to this monster. His grin just grows and a knife appears in his hand as he advances towards her. Fong walks up beside him and the earth trembles under her feet, threatening to swallow her and the mud she stands on. "No, not this time!" Her stance changes, dropping into attack and she strikes first this time. "I'm not afraid of you!" She shouts, just as much to tell herself as is it to tell them as mud yanks them away from her. The ground opens up but she leaps, riding a brown wave onto a fallen log. These aren't real, but they can hurt her and she feels no empathy for the bastards in front of her. Her eyes harden and her jaw clenches, she can't kill what's not alive. Her arms shoot out and the mud listens, sending solid spikes through her enemies. Fong dissipates but Chang, the brutal barbaric Chang falls instead, moaning and crying.

"Please stop! Please don't!" His face is smashed in and his ribs cave in sickeningly as blood begins to stream from his nose and mouth. It takes too long for the whimpering to stop but Katara's shaking doesn't. She can smell burning flesh and hear the screams in her ears.

. . .

About an hour later Katara finds Zuko sitting on a log ashen faced, absent-mindedly petting Momo. He jerks up at the sound of her approach, "Oh, you found us-" Katara's stronger then she looks and the fierce hug takes him and Momo by surprise. "What's going on, are you okay?" She doesn't say anything, just hugs him tighter.

. . .

**Yes, I am aware that the swamp is in a different part of the Earth Kingdom but considering that they end up all over the place by accident I thought this would be fine. Thank you to all of the followers and to those that favorites this story. For Americans Happy Thanksgiving and for all Merry Christmas - though I do plan on updating before that since I finally reached a break in the conventions.**


	17. Chapter 17

"Why didn't you tell me you could do that huh?"

"It didn't come up until now. There was no reason to say anything."

"It still would have been nice to know."

Katara rolls her eyes, "Well when you tell me every little detail about your bending I'll tell you every little detail about mine. For now though let's just try and find the others."

"Hmpf," Zuko exhales. "It's getting dark we should camp for the night."

"How can you even tell it's getting dark, this swamp is the same shade of green now as it was half an hour ago."

Now it's Zuko's turn to roll his eyes, "Really, I'm a fire bender. A nice little detail is that I can feel the sun."

Katara sticks her tongue out. "Okay, but I don't see why we should stop now. We should keep looking."

"Because soon it will be dark and we don't know what's out there." Zuko takes a breath to stay calm.

"What, scared an alligator eel might come and eat you?"

"I'm am not scared! I'm tired but not scared!"

"Fine, okay. Sorry, I didn't mean anything by it."

He sighs, "Let's just make camp." The two work in silence, each ruminating on the events of the day. Zuko's sad and short tempered from the run in with what he prays was not his mother's ghost and Katara's angry and jumpy and quite honestly still terrified from her encounter with the illusions of Chang and Fong. Zuko gathers wood while Katara gathers whatever plants and nuts she can find. A koala rabbit wanders by at the wrong moment and - snap - her mud whip stuns it. She carries her finding proudly back to the campsite.

Zuko raises his eyebrow at her catch. "What is that?"

"Dinner."

"Do you plan on killing it?"

"Uh," she looks down at her feet, "I was kind of hoping you would do that."

"No."

"Why not!"

"Why don't you?"

"I caught it, I shouldn't have to kill it too."

"I'm not killing some innocent little animal just because you can't go without meat for twenty-four hours." Zuko retorts.

"I can to go without meat!"

"Well then prove i-" Katara jumps. During their argument the creature had regained it's mobility and now kicks off of Katara, not only getting out of her grip and bounding away but also getting two large muddy paw prints all over the front of her dress. Zuko smirks, "I guess we don't have to worry about it anyway." Katara huffs. "Anyway, the wood's all wet. Can you do anything about that?"

"Can I do anything about it, bah. I'm a master water bender of course I can do something about it but I don't think it really matters since now our meat is gone and we don't have a pot to cook anything in. I think we're just sticking to nuts tonight."

"Oh."

"Yeah," Katara sighs and plops down on the muddy a twitch of her hand she separates out clean water from the mud and bends it into her mouth. Zuko walks up beside her, licking his lips slightly. He doesn't even ask before a ball of water hovers in the air in front of his mouth. He drinks it down greedily, Katara supplying more until he finally stops. He sits down beside her and offers her some nuts, a peace offering of sorts even though she gathered them. She looks at him, exhausted, before smiling a little and accepting the food. They watch the swamp around them until Katara speaks up. "Thanks for getting the wood even if we didn't use it."

Zuko shrugs, "It's nothing."

Katara thinks nothing of it as she scoots next to him and leans against him. Any other time she would have realized, she would have maybe given a thought to the muscles underneath her cheek and the arm that touches hers but for now it's his strength and his warmth that she needs and the stability. Even though they once were enemies she knows she can count on him, she could count on him to always find them wherever they went and she could count on him to not take advantage of her and now she can depend on him to be there for her in the middle of the night when the nightmares are bad or even during the day when she just needs a reminder that things are okay now. He tenses at her touch but even in her sweaty, muddy, disheveled state just her being there makes him relax again. She's the one who makes him smile, she's the one who shows him that being kind doesn't mean you can't also be strong, she's the one who shows him that peace is worth fighting for. He turns his face ever so slightly and rests his cheek on her hair, drinking in her iron will and calm after the hellish day.

Katara laughs lightly, "To think, today started out with us all trying to relax."

"We'll make sure never to do that again."

"What, relax?"

"Yes." She can't quite tell if he's serious and so shrugs internally, looking out at the descending night.

. . .

Sokka hates this place. No, he doesn't hate it he despises it. He's lost, alone - except for Appa - scared, and shaken. Other than a few minutes, maybe an hour or two here and there, he's never really been alone in his life, not truly alone. His tribe was always there or at least Katara. Even when she was captured Aang was there. Now unseen birds croak and chirp in the deep shadows and no one else is there. The warrior shivers and pulls his knees to his chest. Appa just groans and continues to float leisurely along the muddy stream. He has no idea where they're going and no idea where the others are and Appa won't fly for some unknown reason so he plays babysitter to the giant bison, hoping that he won't be wandering the swamp forever.

. . .

Aang can feel the world here. He can touch this tree and feel it all from Gran-Gran in the South Pole stirring a pot of broth clutching a baby to her chest and crying lightly to the walled city of Ba Sing Se where cat rats and old men fight for scraps of food while rich young men laugh. Over the icy tundra Princess Yue sits trying to smile while her jaw clenches to avoid any possible tears and Chief Arnook introduces another suitor. Across the Great Sea a man with gold in his hair and cold anger on his face curls his lips at General Iroh who stands defiantly in manacles. On the walls of Omashu the Fire Nation flag flies and King Bumi is hoisted into the sky inside a metal box. His mind keeps coming back to a girl though, one he doesn't know but he can't seem to tear himself away from or perhaps the tree is just guiding his thoughts. She's not too far away in a decently sized Earth Kingdom town. Aang can feel the walls around her house and her bare feet plodding around until a servant comes near and she straightens into a ladylike position. She nods, the large black bun on her hair bobbing and the servant straightens her bangs before they head inside. He says something and the girl laughs, not heartily for she is now a _lady _but still genuinely. Aang won't ever forget that laugh, the way her voice deepens but still manages to sound like chimes.

By the time Aang opens his eyes it's dark. He's not even sure when or how he got there but he's perched on top of one of the massive branches beside the gargantuan tree, leaning up against the trunk. The moon is high and the stars twinkle and the Avatar curses, "I wasn't supposed to leave, I was supposed to be looking for the others with Sokka. Maybe this tree can show me where the others are and then I won't have to worry about it." He closes his eyes and sinks back into the tree's awareness. It's not hard to find Sokka and Appa floating around, Sokka trying to get comfortable to sleep. Katara and Zuko sit beside each other while Momo scampers around after bugs. Aang's blood rises slightly at the thought of them together but at least they are safe. He also feels other people, walking around in leaves and guffawing at each others' jokes but they don't seem threatening. Aang relaxes, everyone is okay, he can find them all in the morning.

. . .

"Hey."

Zuko looks up as Katara walks back to camp from using the bathroom. "Hi."

She looks at her feet, a blush rising to her cheeks. "Uh, do you mind if uh, well-"

"What?"

Katara pauses then pushes the words out quickly, the syllables stumbling over each other, "Can I sleep with you tonight? It's been a long day and it's chilly and uh yeah."

That is not at all what he was expecting! "Um, sure I guess?"

"Thanks," she doesn't look at him as she drops onto the ground, he back nestled against his side. He swallows, not sure what he did in life to warrant this and not sure if it's an immensely good thing or a bad thing. Is she trying to send a message, is she honestly cold, is she hoping that he'll put his arm around her - ugh - girls are crazy! What if they fall asleep like this and she wakes up in the morning and he's accidentally groping her or his crotch is up against her or what if that's what she wants and she'll think he's a loser if he doesn't spoon with her. Zuko's frantic thoughts are cut short. "I'm sorry about this, I just don't want to be alone tonight. I saw things out in the swamp and well, I just don't want to be by myself."

He doesn't question what he's supposed to do after her words and curls around her, an arm draping over her side which she clutches. "I saw things too," he mutters into her hair before closing his eyes. Momo lays by his head and the Prince of the Fire Nation falls asleep with surprising ease, the warmth of another person lulling him.

. . .

Zuko wakes in the predawn unsure of his surroundings before realizing that he slept in the middle of the swamp. The warmth on his left is a snoring Katara whose arm is draped across his chest. Surprisingly enough she isn't screaming and mostly slept through the night. He even slept well, only waking twice. Zuko smiles slightly, wondering if she managed to get any deep sleep. He looks at the dark shadows under her eyes, the proof that her sleep lately has been less than good. He won't mess with her slumber and so he stays laying down, an arm around Katara's shoulders mainly because she has it pinned that way. Any shift in movement is met with a grunt and her chin poking him in the ribs as she repositions.

"Really Zuzu, sleeping with peasants now? Bah, and a water bending bitch at that," a voice drawls.

Zuko whips his head around, finding the source sitting daintily on a boulder examining her nails. "You're not really here." Even so, he pushes Katara off and stands facing his sister. Katara cries out at the sudden movement but he hardly notices. He can't be too careful with Azula, whether she's really there or not.

Azula laughs, "Does that matter? I just came to gawk at how far you've fallen, that's all. Father will never want you back now that you're consorting with the Avatar."

"I don't need him to want me back!" The prince roars.

"Oh really?" Azula stands slowly, leisurely, and props a hand on her hip, "You're saying you don't care about us aren't you? You don't care about your family, your honor, any of it. Poor dear Mai, I know she was devastated when you left and now, hearing that you don't care will destroy her."

"You're twisting my words around, Azula! I care about all of you, that's why I'm doing this."

"Really brother, are you sure about that? Are you sure you're not just doing it for that little water bender?" She sighs theatrically, "To think you'll always be a banished prince because you can't keep it in your pants."

"It's not like that, Katara and I are - we're not - it's not about her! It's about the fact that this war is killing thousands of innocent people and it was all started because Great-Grandfather was power hungry! There was no Air Nomad Army, there was nothing attacking us, it's a stupid war!" Zuko shouts.

"Zuko?" A voice much softer than either of the Fire Nation siblings' cuts in.

"Yeah?" Zuko looks over his shoulder at Katara blinking sleep out of her eyes.

"Who are you talking to?"

"To Azu-" He stops, the space where his sister had been standing is empty and no footsteps mark the muddy ground. He scans the surrounding area but there's no trace of her. "My sister, she was right here."

Katara rises and rests a comforting hand on his shoulder, "There's something about this swamp, it's making us see things." He shrugs her off. "You want to talk about it?"

"No. Let's get moving."

. . .

Aang jumps from tree to tree, his toes barely touching the leaves as he leaps towards where he saw Zuko and Katara wading through the mud minutes ago. He's stopped several times to feel the energy in the trees and make sure he's going in the right direction. It doesn't take long before he drops through the branches, creating a cushion of air for a soft landing.

"Aang!" Katara smiles widely and pulls him into a hug as soon as he lands.

"Hey Katara! How are you, are you okay?"

"Yeah, Zuko and I found each other last night we're doing fine. How about you, what happened? Is Appa okay?"

Aang grimaces, "Uh well he was fine the last time I saw him, Sokka too."

"What do you mean, the last time you saw them? What happened Aang?"

"Nothing, nothing, I just got - uh - distracted." Katara's eyebrows shoot up and even Zuko's twitches. "Well I was looking around for you guys with Sokka and then well, somehow I ended up at the big tree in the middle of the swamp."

"Somehow?" Katara's voice rises drastically, "Somehow! Somehow you just manage to wander off leaving my brother by himself in the middle of Goddess knows where! He might be getting eaten this second, we're going to find him right now young man!" She stomps off in the direction they had been heading before Aang arrived. Zuko follows behind, casting a moderately disgusted look at Aang for his foolishness. Aang just winces and hangs his head before walking along.

. . .

Sokka has decided that while he hates being lonely he doesn't mind being alone. Also he's discovered he can mimic the bird croaks quite well. He's also finally had time to himself to think about Yue and for once he stopped tearing up on his own, not out of a need to make conversation and seem happy.

"Whelp, it's got somethin on its back. You reckon someone migh be lookin for it?" Sokka jumps at the nearby voices and he peers over the top of Appa's saddle. It's times like these that he envies the blind. Two men, a tall lanky one and a short fat one stand in a boat of sorts wearing only leaves. Their hats are leaves, their loincloths are leaves, everything is leafy. Needless to say, Sokka isn't too happy about the intrusion.

"Of course someone's looking for him, they'll be looking for me too!" Sokka stands, his boomerang at the ready just in case.

The strangers' eyes widen in surprise momentarily before the short one resumes scratching his belly. "I guess we can't eat em then. What chu doin up there anyhow huh?"

"I'm floating along having the time of my life! What does it look like, I'm fucking lost in the middle of nowhere with no clue where my friends are babysitting a two ton bison!"

"So, you need help or somethin?"

Sokka smacks his forehead. "Yes, yes I do," he sighs.

"Well what you waitin for huh? Follow us. I'm Due and this here" the tall one points to the fat one "is Tho."

"Uh-huh. I'm Sokka."

"Alright Sokka, come one!" Due rotates his arms and the boat jumps into life. "We'll go slow for you and your friend." They set off along the muddy river, Tho bending his little craft forward and Appa following behind.

"Hey, Sokka!" Katara appears, muddy and disheveled, but smiling at the sight of her brother safe and sound. Zuko and Aang follow close behind.

Sokka's eyes narrow in on the monk. "You," he hisses and, in a rare show of talent, scales Appa, marches across the mud, and has the collar of Aang's robes bunched in his fists within about three seconds. "You selfish prick! I don't give a damn if you're the Avatar, you don't just fucking leave people like that."

"I didn't realize I was leaving until I was already gone!" Aang defends and Sokka scoffs.

"Didn't realize you were leaving? What, did your feet just get up leave by themselves? We were supposed to be looking for my sister and you run off doing who knows what leaving me here in the middle of the swamp with Appa and no idea where to go!"

"Sokka, Sokka, it's okay. Yeah Aang made a mistake, but we're all okay." Katara grabs his hands and loosens them, her soothing words a sharp contrast from the anger she displayed minutes before.

"Well howdy, I'm Due and this is Tho. How ya'll doin?" Everyone freezes and blinks. Zuko and Katara raise their eyebrows equally high.

"Oh yeah, someone" Sokka shoots a deadly look at Aang, "decided to come by and help me out. You know, they could have raging psychopaths, thankfully they're nice."

"Yupp, we sure are nice ain't we, Due?"

"Yeah, sure are. So, what'd ya'll do to end up here?"

"What do you mean?" Zuko asks.

"Well the swamp wants you here or else you'd be gone by now."

At that Aang perks up, "Well I'm the Avatar and the big tree did seem to want to talk to me."

Zuko groans and Sokka smacks his own forehead. "Aang, it's a tree. Trees don't talk to people."

"This one did!"

"No," Zuko replies, "It's a fucking tree."

"Nah, bald kid's righ. The banion grove tree calls all kines o' people here. Ya'll seen weird stuff out here in the swamp?"

Sokka shudders Katara instinctively hugs herself, and Zuko's nostrils flare, "Yeah, why?"

"Thas the swamp talking to you, showing you what you want or need ta see."

"No!" Sokka, Katara, and Zuko interject loudly.

Due just shrugs, "Come on. We'll show ya to our village. Talk ta Huu, he'll know what to tell ya."

The swamp people walk off and Zuko mutters, "Due, Huu, next there'll be Foo and Loo I'm sure." Katara smirks silently and Sokka nods his agreement. Aang's already hugging Appa so doesn't hear. Due lifts his hands and the water around him twitches in answer. Katara goes wide-eyed as his little boat starts to move, Appa trailing along behind.

"You're a water bender!"

"Yeah, so?"

"I didn't know there were any outside of the Poles! Are there many more back at your village?"

"Most of us are benders," Tho interjects, "It'd be weird ta live in a swamp and not be able to talk wit it."

"Talk with it?"

"Ya know, feel it and know what's goin' on out and about an' all."

"Wait, you mean you can feel stuff through the water?"

Tho shrugs, "O' course."

"That's amazing!" Katara whirls on Zuko, "That technique I told you about, your Uncle taught me that. They never said a word about it while fighting in the North Pole, I mean there was a little with the 'being one with the water' and some in healing but never actually communicating with the water or using it to see! Your Uncle must have come here! Can you imagine, a Fire Nation General learning water bending moves and living in harmony with a bunch of water benders!" She croons.

Zuko frowns, thinking. "If-"

"What chu talking bout?"

The master water bender turns back around, "Did a fire bender come here several years ago? He would have been short, probably had a beard. I don't know how large he was back then."

Tho strokes his chin as Due continues to bend absentmindedly. "Wasn't there that guy bout what eight, ten years ago?"

"Yeah, I remember something bout that. Wasn't he a fire bender?"

"Yeah, think he was. Oh yeah, I remember now, he helped us catch old Slim."

"Mhmm, and he sure made nice fires, juiciest bear fish meat I'd ever had was cause of him."

"My Uncle wouldn't have come to a place like this!" Zuko stands, offended at the thought of his Uncle running around with these - these - not peasants because that's exactly what he's doing right now with Katara and Sokka but half clothed potential maniacs!

"What chu mean, a place like this?"

He immediately backpedals, "I just mean that uh"

"His uncle is a fire bender, he was just surprised that water benders would accept him."

Due shrugs at Katara's explanation and Tho nods, "Well, we ain't about to turn someone away that the swamp wants here. Anyhow, right up ahead's our place." They dock and Appa steps out onto semi-dry ground. Huts raised on stilts dot the muddy terrain and people clothed in leaves and leather wander around. Five men and seven women stop their archery to watch the newcomers. A couple grinding nuts stop mid kiss to look. A bunch of children stop to gawk and one topples over as Appa yawns loudly.

"Due, Tho! You brought them foreigners?" A lanky woman hollers.

"Yupp, this here's the Avatar. Don't know the names o' any of the rest of em cept ponytail's is Sokka."

"Hey, this is a warrior's wolf tail! That," Sokka gestures at Zuko, "Is a ponytail. There's a difference."

An older man claps him on the shoulder and laughs, "Sure thing son."

Sokka sighs and Katara steps forward, "Hi, I'm Katara, this is Zuko, you've met my brother Sokka and this is the Avatar, Aang." Various hellos chorus out and heads nod in hello.

"You move like a bender, you one?"

Katara doesn't even get to answer before another woman replies, "Of course she is, an the kid wit the 'actual ponytail' is a bender too. Looks jus like the guy here a few years ago. Prolly a fire bender."

"Hey, you ever cooked bear fish?"

"Ooh, what bout eel ray?" It doesn't take long before everyone's muttering amongst themselves debating what they want for dinner that night and how nice it'll be to have a fire bender there again. "So, what bout it? What chu good at cookin?"

"Well, I've never really cooked anything before."

All the talking stops cold, "What chu mean yo've never cooked!" Another person groans, "Oh no, we ain't training this one too. We'll just cook it ourselves!" "Ya'll get outta the way. We need to get ready fur company!" With those words action explodes. Someone grabs Katara by the arm and ushers her and the others up some stairs and into a large hut. It takes about five seconds for them to go from standing beside Appa to sitting confused in the middle of a room with a catgator trying to get Sokka to pet it. Sokka yanks his hand back but the scaly creature nudges his leg insistently.

"Heh, Roob always did love an excuse to party." An older man with fat hanging over his leaf loincloth chuckles. "You four have just made his year."

"Well uh that's good," Katara states, clearly uneasy.

"I'm Huu, by the way." Zuko stands to bow but Huu just waves him down. "We're not much fur formalities here, Prince Zuko." Zuko hisses. "Yupp, 'Tara said your name an I knew jus who you were, yur uncle used to talk 'bout you all the time. He didn't never say anything bout your face though."

Zuko goes from a slight scowl about his name to a clenched jaw and a blank face with fire raging behind his eyes. "There's nothing wrong with my face."

"Nah, nothin wrong, jus different." Huu shrugs and sits cross legged. Katara grabs and tugs on Zuko's pants, pulling him down next to her before he starts really fuming. "So anyhow, the banyion tree wants you here Avatar?"

"I guess so but I'm not getting the strong pull from it like I was earlier. I think it showed me what it wanted to."

"It might have, but I'll take you up there tomorrow ta make sure. There's so much it can teach."

Aang nods, "Okay. We do need to get to Omashu after this though. I saw Bumi and it looked like he was in trouble."

"You saw old man Bumi?" Sokka scoffs, "Yeah right, he's like a hundred miles away."

"No, I'm serious I did! The tree showed me."

Zuko perks up, "Did you see my uncle?"

"What about Gran-Gran?"

"Guys, it's a fucking tree. It's not going to -"

"I saw Yue."

Sokka's voice cracks, "What?"

"She's good, she seems happy," Aang lies.

"Oh, okay."

"Gran-Gran seemed to be doing well. And no, I didn't see your Uncle." Huu gives him an odd look but doesn't say anything. Katara's smiling and Zuko is just lost it thought.

The older man stands, "Well I'd best go help with the festivities. Roob'll start throwin a fit here soon ifin no one helps calm em down."

"Do you need any help?"

"Nah, missy we've got this under control. You all just relax an we'll take care o you."


End file.
